


Building Tomorrow

by Ehliena



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Future Fic, I hope, I'm still in denial, Slow Burn, come join me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2016-03-04
Packaged: 2018-05-10 11:29:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 40,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5584141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ehliena/pseuds/Ehliena
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The war is over, the First Order is defeated. Luke has to rebuild the Jedi with Rey and Ben.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Party!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [valninja](http://valninja.tumblr.com/) for this prompt.

The war was over, the First Order and the Knights of Ren were defeated. The Resistance, like the Rebel Alliance before them loved a good celebratory party. Luke’s mind was far from the celebrations though. If he learned anything from the lessons of the past is that the Sith will never be truly defeated.

Because of that, he had to make sure that the future generations would have Jedi to protect them and guard them from the Dark Side. As the oldest living Jedi, it was up to him to train new ones and re-establish the Order. Much like he was trying to do at the end of the last war he was involved in.

He sighed. He was getting too old for this.

True, he could become one with the Force like both his masters and his father before him. But he found that spectres did not make good teachers. True he had Rey to help him, but her training wasn’t as complete as he would have liked.

It took years to become a proper Jedi Knight, her rushed training was called for in the war. But now that they had time, she had to be taught properly.

Perhaps he could get Ben to help.

Ben Solo, also known as Kylo Ren. His nephew and the Resistance’s sleeper agent, returned to them at the end of the war. Luke had no idea that he was playing double agent at all. It was a plan that his sister and nephew concocted all on their own. Han was only let in on the plan just before he faked his death.

Luke figured that he could ask Ben to assist with the rest of Rey’s training, but he had to keep in mind that his nephew still needed more training as well. Perhaps they could train together while they went off in search of younglings in need of training or Force-sensitive children whose abilities were only beginning to manifest.

Who was he kidding? The two would probably kill him then each other if he even suggested that they work together. At this point, where the war is still so fresh in their minds, they probably would wonder at his sanity if he even suggested it.

Not that they didn’t already. Exile wasn’t as fun as Master Yoda and Old Ben made it look. Having Force-ghosts for company didn’t make it any better either.

“Credit for your thoughts?” Leia said as she took a seat next to him. “You really should lighten up Luke, you were like this after we overthrew the Empire too.”

“The Jedi have no emotion,” he tried to evade her question, but she wasn’t going to have any of it.

“Only peace,” she supplied, giving him an exasperated look. “Yes, yes, we’ve all heard that before. But seriously Luke, what’s on your mind?”

“The Sith,” he answered. Leia might not have been trained to use the Force, but over the course of her life she had been a Princess, a general, a mother, and not to mention, Han Solo’s wife. No matter how hard he tried, Luke would never be able to pull the wool over her eyes.

“We just defeated the Sith,” she reminded him, taking his face in her hands. “You deserve a break from all that too, you know?”

“We may have brought down Snoke,” Luke said, covering one of Leia’s hands with his real one and leaning into her palm. “But the Dark Side will always be there. New Jedi should be trained to prepare for that.”

“Did you have visions of the future again?” She asked, tousling his hair with the hand that he wasn’t holding onto. “Visions that scared you farm-boy?”

“Not as such no,” he removed both of her hands from his person. Honestly, old as they were Leia still loved to bring up the fact that he grew up in the backwater planet that was Tatooine. “But history teaches us never to underestimate the Sith. The Jedi were almost obliterated twice. We should use what time we have to rebuild.”

“We’re all going to be rebuilding,” Leia said suddenly serious. “The First Order was just doing what the Empire did. The same ideologies and creed for a newer generation, yet it grew to become what it was. The people weren’t ready for the freedom we won for them. Hopefully now they are.”

Luke nodded. His sister was right, as she usually was. In any case, they would be working towards a common goal. She would just be more involved in the politics of it all, but when wasn’t she ever involved in that?

“Do you have important plans, General Organa?” Luke smiled, remembering different plans altogether.

“Some,” she admitted. “Nothing concrete yet that needs to be stored in a droid. Yourself Master Skywalker?”

“I want Rey and Ben to help me with rebuilding the Order,” Luke said. Leia nodded seeing the merit in that plan. Luke observed his sister to see her reaction to his next statement. “I also want them to teach each other.”

Leia’s brow furrowed. Luke can tell by her pursed lips that she was thinking the idea over. She exhaled and shook her head.

“Ben is still recovering,” she pointed out.

“I know.”

His nephew didn’t make it out of that last battle unharmed. That he even got himself back to the Falcon without help was a miracle. Ben had to face Rey, his fellow Knights of Ren, and Supreme Leader Snoke that day. Lightsabers and laser pistols might not allow you to bleed to death, but not all the Knights had such weapons. Some of them had used blades in that fight.

The Supreme Leader wasn’t happy either when Ben revealed his true allegiance. A body could only take so much.

“Rey wouldn’t like it,” Leia added. “Even after finding out that Han’s alive.”

“True,” Luke agreed. “But they have so much that they could teach each other.”

“I know,” Leia said. “There’s something there. I could feel it.”

“Maybe if I eased her into it?” Luke asked. He had no idea how to handle girls Rey’s age, but Leia would.

“It will all depend on how you phrase things,” she said, fully aware that if she didn’t do some fast talking, he would rope her into doing it for him.

Jedi mind tricks weren’t all about invading another person’s mind. Sometimes, they could do manipulations just by talking. Luke got quite brilliant at both aspects of that skill, and while Leia was a hardened politician, family would always be her weakness.

“Let her have these celebrations first,” she continued. “She’s young, and she grew up alone, time with other people is good for a young woman like her. She knows that her training isn’t complete yet. From what I know of Rey, she isn’t the type not to see things through.”

Luke nodded, accepting her advice. Luke understood the Force, Leia understood people. It was just how things were.

Before Luke could say anything else, Han sauntered up to them in his usual way. He was carrying a drink in one hand. A drink which made Leia’s eyes narrow.

“Hey kid,” he greeted, passing over the bottle to Luke who accepted it without question. “Mind if I steal her Worshipfulness over here for a dance?”

“I mind that you called me kid, despite my age,” Luke informed him, sniffing the contents of the bottle and finding it smelling safe enough to drink. “And you should ask her Worshipfulness herself.”

“Oh you two,” Leia chuckled. “I’ll see you later, alright Luke?”

She waited for a nod from him before she all but dragged Han to where the people were dancing. It was nice to see them together again. Luke knew that things between the couple weren’t the same when Ben started his mission. He was glad that they seemed happy now.

Luke took another swig from his bottle. To the others he looked like he was enjoying his drink while observing the festivities, but in truth he was checking up on Ben and Rey using the Force.

Ben was easy to locate, being in the infirmary as he was. Luke knew that Ben was conscious, but still weak. His nephew wasn’t slacking off with his training either. Luke could sense that Ben was well, but that was it. Ben’s mind was closed to Luke’s senses.

_Leave me alone for now, Uncle._

Accepting that Ben needed his solitude, especially since the boy, always a boy to Luke, was now in what was enemy territory, Luke pulled away. But not before letting Ben know that all of his family was there for him if ever he needed them.

The Jedi Master sighed and took another sip of his drink. Finding Rey was a bit more difficult, especially since he taught her how to hide herself from prying eyes. But Luke found her eventually, both via the Force and with his eyes.

She stopped dancing and turned her head in his direction. Once they made eye contact, she shot him a huge grin and waved her hand. Luke raised his hand in reply. He didn’t know how it was possible, but her grin got even wider before she was distracted by the people next to her.

Poe the Pilot and Finn the Former Stormtrooper. They were quite protective of each other. From what Luke could tell, they were very protective of Finn. He was glad that his apprentice had friends, like he had Han and Leia.

Rey looked like she was enjoying herself a bit too much though. Luke figured that someone, likely Poe, had given her and Finn some alcohol. Luke shook his head. They were probably going to regret it in the morning. He made a mental note to have some painkillers ready for her tomorrow.

She was his responsibility after all.

Luke finished off what drink was left in his bottle. It was time for him to call it a night, he wasn’t as young as he used to be. Jedi or not, his body needed to rest.

***

Ben stared at the ceiling of his private room in the Infirmary. He was surprised none of the Resistance members insist that he be restrained while he was here. He knew that the door was open and he was free to come and go, despite many people protesting against that. He also knew that there was a party going on and his mother told him to come, but he didn’t want to.

He knew better than to go where he wasn’t welcome.

He was very familiar with that feeling. First was as a child growing up with abilities that neither of his parents fully understood. Then when he was at his Uncle’s school with all the other younglings, he still didn’t fit in because of his grandfather’s legacy. When he joined the Knights of Ren, it was still that legacy, and the fact that he was a double agent, that kept him apart from the others.

Ben sighed. Maybe it was just his destiny to be lonely despite being surrounded by people.

He felt a shift in the Force. It was his Uncle Luke, probably checking up on him. Ever since they came back, his family had been hovering so much, it was a miracle that they ever got anything else done.

He allowed his Uncle to sense that he was fine in general, but otherwise, he kept Luke out. When the feeling didn’t go away, he had to open up his mind a bit to send Luke a message.

_Leave me alone for now, Uncle._

Ben was going to tack on a ‘please’ in case Luke didn’t go away, but since he did it didn’t matter. When he was alone again, Ben touched his scar with his hand.

The girl, Rey. He wondered if she was alright. They told him she was, but she took quite a beating during that last battle. He smiled. Incompletely trained as she was, she held her own and then some during that fight. She was going to be a great Jedi.

He wondered about what was going to happen now that they destroyed the First Order. He wondered specifically what was going to happen to him after everything that he’d done. He knew that some people would never forgive him, despite having done those things for the greater good.

Ben supposed that his Uncle would want to start training new Jedi again. He’d probably be asked to help, probably even asked to complete his own Jedi training. But what parent would allow him to teach their child?

Ben pinched the bridge of his nose. It was an attempt to stave off a coming headache. It was one of the things he missed being able to do when he was wearing his helmet actually. Using the Force so close to his eyes was never an option.

He adjusted his position on the bed, getting comfortable enough to fall asleep. As far as his parents and uncle were concerned, his priority was healing from his injuries. He supposed he should do as they said, seeing as how he was confined to bed rest for the foreseeable future. But other than that he had no other plans.

Ben yawned, feeling his eyes drifting shut. He’d let the future take care of itself.

***

Rey sat down, dizzy because the world seemed to be spinning all around her. She could’ve sworn she didn’t drink that much. Then again it was Poe who gave them the drinks.

“Hey Rey,” Finn put a hand on her shoulder. “You okay?”

“Stop touching me,” she joked and they shared a smile. They’ve come a long way from Jakku. “Just a bit woozy. Did Poe tell you what was in those drinks?”

“You don’t wanna know,” Poe said, popping up from behind Finn and flashing them a winning smile. “Trust me.”

“Ugh,” she groaned, resting her head in her hands. “I think I need to rest.”

“I second that motion,” Finn said as he sat down next to her, then proceeded to just lie down. “I think we partied too hard.”

“There is no such thing as partying too hard,” Poe insisted. “But you are still recovering. Wait, are you taking medications that shouldn’t be mixed with alcohol?”

“What?” Rey asked, staring at the pilot. “Not that I know of.”

“Oh good,” Poe said, his relief exaggerated in the way that only those who have had a certain amount of alcohol could pull off. “Wouldn’t want to be the one to tell the General that her newest hero had a reaction to the booze.”

“Wouldn’t that just take the cake?” Rey snorted. “I get to survive the war, the Knights of Ren, and the battle with the Supreme Leader Snoke, only to be done in by alcohol.”

“Not a bad way to die,” Poe replied. “If it happens in one go that is.”

A snore came from Finn, who had apparently fallen asleep. Poe gave the man a fond smile.

“Lightweight,” he shook his head. “Guess I gotta be the one to haul him off to bed. Or leave him there, would serve him right. What do you think?”

“You wouldn’t really leave him here, would you?” Rey asked, snickering at the speed of Poe’s speech.

“Nah,” he smiled. “Finn’s a good kid. He doesn’t deserve a night out in the cold. Guess the party’s over for me.”

Rey hummed to indicate that she was listening. She didn’t know the specifics, but she knew that Poe was important to Finn, seeing as how the pilot was the one to give him his name. And from the looks of things, Finn was important to Poe as well.

“Do you need help?” she asked as Poe slung one of Finn’s arms over his shoulder to help the former stormtrooper up.

“Nah,” Poe declined. “I got him. You’ll be alright by yourself?”

“Yes,” Rey nodded. “I’ll just make my way to my room in a bit.”

“Alright then,” Poe said. “Time for us to go Finn.”

Finn mumbled something incoherently in reply. Rey grinned. It didn’t matter that Finn was a former stromtrooper who probably had years of training on how to fire a blaster. He was adorable. He was an adorable mess at the moment, but still adorable.

She watched them go, with Poe more or less dragging Finn. Looking back on how lonely her life had been, she was glad that she left Jakku. Happy thoughts kept her company as she walked back to her room.

The future was bright.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey learns about hangovers. Ben learns about respecting doctor's orders. Han gets reminded that Jedi don't need mind tricks to pull him into things.

Rey woke up with a massive headache. To call it just a headache was a gross understatement, but Rey wasn’t the type to elaborate on her pain. If she tried it would have made her head hurt more.

She opened and closed her mouth several times, hoping that some movement would moisten the insides, but it didn’t help. She was no stranger to dehydration, but this was new to her. It boggled her mind that she could have drank so much liquid the previous night and yet still wake up dehydrated.

Whatever Finn had given her to drink, it was strong.

She lay in bed for a while, motionless because even the slightest bit of movement made her world spin. Her gaze slowly fell to her side table where a pitcher of water was waiting. Rey narrowed her eyes.

Salvation was but a few steps away, and yet she couldn’t even stand up to take it. Using the Force was out of the question, her concentration was shot.

A knock sounded on her door before it opened slightly. Master Luke peeked in to check on her. Seeing her awake, he smiled the room.

“Good you’re up,” he whispered, knowing how awful she must feel. “May I come in?”

Rey mouthed her approval, her throat feeling too dry to be able to make a sound. Luke entered, gently closing the door behind him. He poured her a glass of water from the pitcher and slowly helped her up.

“Small sips,” he directed. “Take small sips or you’ll only end up vomiting.”

Rey gave a sound to indicate that she understood and sipped from the glass. She raised a hand to indicate that she was done but Luke did not yet let her lay back on the bed.

“Here’s something for the headache,” he said as he pulled something out from his cloak. “I know it helped me a lot back in the day.

He handed her a pill which she drank as quickly as she could. She had no idea what it was, but it worked wonders. Within a few minutes, her nausea dissipated and the headache was completely gone.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her throat still dry.

“You’re welcome,” Luke replied, smiling at her.

“Did you need something, Master?” she asked, taking another sip of water. “You surely didn’t just come here to help me with the hangover?”

“Can’t a teacher care for his student without having an ulterior motive?” Luke challenged, his face giving nothing away.

“A teacher may,” Rey granted. “But we are Jedi. There is always another layer to most of our actions.”

“I taught you too well,” Luke laughed. “Or maybe you were already cautious to begin with. Not all actions have an ulterior motive to them. But you’re right, this wasn’t a mere courtesy call.”

“Sir?” Rey asked, waiting patiently for him to get to his point.

“You know that your training as a Jedi Knight is not yet complete, right?”

Rey nodded. She was fully aware that her crash course training was only enough for her to control the Force and use her abilities to stop the First Order. She was nowhere near any sort of mastery in any of her skills. Although Master Luke did say that she was naturally gifted in Jedi mind arts.

“Will you be willing to see your training through?” Luke asked, his demeanour serious. “Will you continue your training?”

“Of course,” Rey replied.

There was nothing waiting for her back on Jakku. Jedi training, Master Luke, this was her future now. When she became a master, she would probably even help him train what younglings they would find.

Let it never be said that Rey was the type of person to start something and not see it through to the end.

“Good,” Luke nodded. “We’ll be staying here for some time. We can continue some of your training here. But we’ll have to leave eventually.”

“I understand.”

And Rey did. Some of the Jedi training that Master Luke was teaching her was not meant for the general population to see. As much as the Jedi needed to become public knowledge again, they still needed to keep an air of mystery about them.

“You should continue practicing your stances,” Luke instructed. “You don’t have to use your lightsaber for that.”

“Of course Master.”

“Good,” Luke approved. “Well, I’ll be going now.”

He turned to leave. Luke stopped at her door, she could read hesitation in his posture.

“Sir?” she asked.

“Ben might re-join us,” Luke said, not turning around to face her. “I would not turn him away if he wished to do so. Just to let you know.”

“I see,” Rey replied, keeping the anger from her voice.

“He needs a place in the new order of things Rey,” Luke seemed weary as he said so. Rey assumed that he would be given the massacre of younglings that his own nephew took part of. “He needs to know that he has a place with the Jedi, with us.”

“I understand,” she said, seeing the wisdom in giving Ben Solo a chance.

“I’m glad you do,” Luke smiled at her.

He left her room after that, leaving her to think on what would happen once they would re-establish the Jedi Order. Would Ren be her teacher or her fellow student?

Master Luke told her that the Jedi did not take on two apprentices at once. But they have told her that Kylo Ren didn’t finish his Jedi training.

She sighed. She should probably get used to calling him by his real name, rather than as ‘Kylo Ren’ or kinslayer as he was in her mind. She should also probably get out of bed soon.

Rey stood up and gave a stretch, still wondering at how much better she felt thanks to that thing Master Luke gave her. As she went through her morning ablutions she planned out what she would do with her day. Stances would probably be something she’d do in the afternoon, she figured.

After she was done washing, she settled herself on the floor and started meditating. It did wonders for her emotions and helped clear her mind so she could focus better. She spent several minutes just meditating, revelling in the ebb and flow of the Force.

When she was done, she stood and stretched again. Suppressing a yawn, she wondered what she was going to do, since Master Luke never gave her any other instructions. She shrugged to herself.

Maybe she should go find Finn and Poe and see what they were up to.

***

Ben woke up alone. Not that he was expecting to see anybody there. Only his parents and his uncle actually visited him. He knew that Chewbacca was still upset that he and his father faked the latter’s death. Threepio was probably off assisting his mother or his uncle. Artoo would probably never come near him again, not after what happened with the younglings.

Ben shook his head, trying to get those memories away from him. It did not do well to dwell on the past, he knew that much. He may have already been officially pardoned for all the acts he committed as ‘Kylo Ren’, but there was a stain on his soul that no amount of forgiveness could erase.

He was broken and he knew it.

He reached out and touched the scar on his face. Ever since that girl- Rey, his mind supplied- gave it to him, he would touch it whenever he had his mask off. He thought about the lightsaber that gave it him, the lightsaber that belonged to his grandfather, which now belongs to her. Ben sighed.

Rey was strong with the Force, she deserved to keep the lightsaber.

He rose from his bed. The healers said that he could walk around if he wanted, even out in the corridor, as long as there was someone there to help him in case he fell down.

Ben scoffed at that thought. He was Kylo Ren, leader of the Knights of Ren and second only to the Supreme Leader in terms of rank in the First Order. He didn’t need anyone.

Even as he was giving himself that empowering speech, he could feel his head gradually lighten. Still, he was his father’s son and, if nothing else, he inherited the man’s stubborn nature. He kept walking until he reached his door, but he was breathing heavily because of it. He leaned against the wall next to the door, trying to catch his breath.

Ben knew that he wasn’t going to be able to make it back to his bed on his feet.

“Ben?”

A voice surprised him. He had been so caught up in catching his breath that he didn’t hear the door open him. His mother’s face swam into view.

“What are you doing out of bed?” she asked, quickly coming up beside him and helping him stand. “You weren’t supposed to be standing without anyone else here.”

“Like I need supervision,” he mumbled, still grateful for her assistance.

“You and your father,” she shook her head and helped him back into bed. “Hard-headed louts who think they know everything. And he calls me stubborn.”

Ben gave a small smile at that, remembering the happier days of his childhood. His parents would always end up arguing about one thing or another. Tempers would then proceed to escalate, only to immediately dissipate when one of them would initiate a kiss.

Looking back, it was a miracle that he was an only child with all that passion between them.

“Thank you,” he said in a small voice once he was settled on the bed. He wasn’t used to thanking people anymore.

“I’m your mother,” she reminded him. “If I don’t help you, who will?”

Ben huffed. What she said was true. There weren’t many in the Resistance Headquarters who would help him. Some probably wouldn’t spit on him if her were on fire.

He understood them though. A lot of people died because of him. Those who joined the Resistance probably did so after losing a loved one. They probably lost family, lovers, or friends because of his actions in the war.

“Stop thinking,” Leia scolded. “I know that look, and if you can’t do anything about it now, what’s the point in thinking about it?”

“But--” he tried, but she cut him off.

“But nothing,” she said sternly. “We were at war. You were doing your job. If you didn’t maybe the death toll would have been greater.”

“If I did my job better maybe the war could’ve ended sooner,” he countered. “Maybe we would have had lesser losses. On both sides.”

“Oh Ben,” she said, sitting on the bed and pushing his hair away from his face. “We can’t know that for certain.”

“Still,” he insisted, staring right into her eyes. “If I--”

“No,” she shook her head. “We were asking so much from you. But only you could have done it.”

She pulled him into a hug. Her hand petting his head in a soothing manner, much like she did whenever he cried as a child.

“I had no choice but to send you,” Leia’s voice shook. “I sent my only son into the lion’s den for the war effort. And here I thought that the days of sending loved ones off to die ended with the Empire.”

“Mother…” he murmured, not really sure as to what he could say.

“But the war is over now,” Leia continued. “It’s time to rebuild. You could stay and help here.”

Ben pulled away from his mother’s hold and looked at her. War had aged her, war had aged them all. But underneath that he saw her firm resolve. She would rebuild things, make things better. That was just the type of person Leia Organa was.

“I don’t know,” he admitted.

He had no place here. If he had died in the final battle, he would have been lauded as a hero once his role was revealed. But how do heroes live past their battles? Would he vanish into memory? Should he go into exile as punishment for all of his war crimes?

“I told you to stop thinking,” Leia chided. “You don’t have to decide on everything at once. Just know that you have your options.”

“Yes Mother,” he replied dutifully.

“Good,” she smiled. “Luke said something about rebuilding the school. Maybe you’d want to help with that?”

Ben blinked. If his Uncle gave him the chance, he could never bring back the younglings he killed, but he could help teach a new group. He could help them hone their skills so that they could never be slaughtered like animals.

“Maybe,” Ben replied, causing Leia to smile.

“Think about it,” she smiled. She stood, pausing only a bit to kiss his forehead. “Get some rest Ben. You’re still healing.”

His mother left soon after that. Once he was alone, he realised how exhausted he felt. One night apparently wasn’t enough to recover from that last battle. He closed his eyes, fully intending to rest them for just a minute, but he soon slipped into sleep.

***

Inside the Millenium Falcon, repairs were being made. Han wiped the sweat from his brow. The galaxy was safe. Evil was vanquished. It was high time that this smuggler took his leave.

Too bad the Falcon didn’t seem to agree with him.

He had no idea what the old girl went through while it was in Rey’s hands. Chewie gave him a broad summary, but nothing from that retelling pointed out just why the Falcon wouldn’t start when he wanted to.

Which was before dawn this morning so he could slip out without saying a word.

It was currently way past dawn, nearly lunch, and here he still was trying to get the darn thing to work.

“Going somewhere?”

Han glanced up to see Luke standing there. He quickly wiped the guilty expression on his face and assumed a more relaxed one.

“Hey kid,” he greeted, resuming his work. “Needed something?”

“Are you running out on my sister?” Luke asked, getting straight to the point. Han appreciated that. “Again?”

“Hey!” Han protested, pausing just long enough to point a finger at the Jedi. “You walked away first, if I remember correctly.”

“I did,” Luke admitted, “And I’m not proud of it. But I’m here now.”

“Well woohoo good for you,” Han replied, returning to fiddling with the wiring on the Falcon. “But you know how it is Kid. I’ve got places to be, things to smuggle. Hand me that screwdriver will you?”

“What about Leia?” Luke asked, handing Han the tool.

“What about her?” Han answered. “Pass me the tape.”

“She needs you to be here for her,” Luke insisted, waving around the tape before giving it to Han.

“Pfft,” Han replied. “She doesn’t need me here.”

“And why not?”

“She’s going to be busy with politics, and you know how good I am at that,” he wasn’t, Luke knew how bad Han was with political niceties. “What would she need an old smuggler like me for?”

“You were there for her the last time,” Luke reasoned.

“And look how well that turned out,” Han said. He didn’t need to elaborate because that statement quickly turned Luke on the defensive.

“This is not Ben’s fault,” Luke shook his head.

“I know,” Han said. “Ben’s a great kid. Selfless, brave, kind. He got that all from her, you know? My point is, what would she need me here for? Sometimes love just isn’t enough, you know?”

Luke stared at his brother-in-law. The man was so used to acting cool, that he couldn’t even express himself properly and tell Leia his concerns. He’d rather fly off without a word to anyone.

“Well I need a pilot,” Luke said, changing the subject. If he couldn’t help with keeping Han with Leia, the least he could do for her is make sure he knows where Han is.

“Last I checked,” Han replied. “You _are_ a pilot.”

“I haven’t flown in years,” Luke reasoned.

“That girl,” Han argued. “Rey, your apprentice. She’s a pilot.”

“Ah, but she doesn’t have a ship,” Luke pointed out. “And we’ll need a ship.”

“Fine,” Han agreed. “What’s the cargo?”

“Just two, maybe three people,” Luke smiled, glad that his friend was accepting the job.

“Three?” Han clarified. “You, Rey, and?”

“Ben,” Luke answered. “If he decides to come along.”

“Fine,” Han said. “When do we go?”

“I don’t know,” Luke shrugged. “Ben’s still recuperating and I haven’t gotten down the specifics yet.”

“Right,” Han scowled. “That’s alright, I guess. This old thing doesn’t seem like it’s going to fly any time soon.”

“Oh the Falcon?” Luke said, already near the exit. “I asked Chewie to make sure you were grounded. I had a feeling you were going to do a runner.”

Luke exited the Falcon quickly, smiling as he heard, what he assumed to be the screwdriver, clang against the wall.

Things were in place. As he told Han, he didn’t have any specifics yet, but he already had a general picture in his mind. He could feel Force-sensitive children in other places, he needed the Falcon in case some of them turned out to be slaves.

Leia wouldn’t approve of stealing property, but she didn’t approve of slavery either. She knew that some of Luke’s students had shady backgrounds and she turned a blind eye to that.

It was better that they were trained up as Jedi rather than left alone to become Sith later on. But all of that had to wait.

Luke whistled as he made his way to the mess area. He was in the mood for lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2! Omg. I have no idea what I'm doing. I hope this didn't seem rambly to anyone!  
> I have to apologise now. I can't promise regular updates since school's coming back in session, but I will keep writing this!  
> Tell me what you thought of this? ^.^


	3. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben is brooding. Rey is caught in stormpilot drama.

When Ben next woke up, the sun was beginning to set. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and yawned. He had missed lunch, but he didn’t seem to be hungry. Not that it mattered, he was on supplementation.

There was something bothering the back of his mind. A presence, one which he knew well. He checked the defences he had and found them intact. It seemed like Rey was just checking to make sure that he was where he was supposed to be.

Ben sat up slowly, certain that if he did so he would pass out, or at the very least, become lightheaded. He rolled his shoulders, trying to stretch the kinks from his muscles.

He didn’t like staying still for long periods of time. He never did. His childhood was filled with adventure, the sort in his mind and the real sort when his father and Chewie took him with them on flights on the Falcon.

A figure outside his window caught his attention. His room was on the second floor, the view outside his window overlooked an inner courtyard.

Ben shifted on the bed to get a better look.

It was Rey. He didn’t expect her to be so close. Her abilities with the mental aspects of the Force was second to none, so she didn’t need to be close in order to do a surveillance on him.

She had a wooden practice sword and was doing the basic stances for lightsaber training. Ben gave a wry smile. He knew those stances, he knew them by heart. He remembered the day that he first learned them, his excitement had made his mother and his uncle smile.

He watched her for a while, noting the flaws in her bearing, areas which she could still improve. He missed teaching. It was just months before the massacre that his uncle had allowed him to supervise the younglings. The same younglings whose blood were on his hands.

Ben shook his head. One of the first things he ever did in service to the Dark Side was decimating the Jedi Order that Luke had built. That action mirrored what his grandfather had done when he first became Darth Vader. Snoke had a twisted sense of humor since he was the one who ordered the annihilation to be done.

Ben shuddered as he recalled the day that Snoke had announced his plan.

He had ‘snuck’ away from the school. His mother actually ensured that he would get away without raising suspicion. The meeting was held in a cloaked ship, hidden from whatever pitiful patrol was in charge of that sector.

His mother had complained about how corrupt the governments of several areas were. Seeing it personally made Ben realise how easy it was for the First Order to gain power.

“So that the Dark Side will reign supreme once more,” Snoke had said once all the Knights of Ren had assembled. “The Jedi must fall. This is where you come in, my apprentice.”

Snoke motioned to Ben, as if anyone in the room needed to be reminded who Snoke’s chosen was. The other Knights were still wary of him. To them he was the enemy, a Jedi and the child of the Last Princess of Alderaan.

He had to get them to trust him in order to be an effective agent for the Resistance. He began his mission knowing that he would be doing things that he would later on regret.

“Luke Skywalker and his school must be destroyed,” Snoke continued, laying a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “You will be the key to allow us access to his training ground. Once your fellow Knights have assembled, you will proceed to kill every single person there. Leave none alive Kylo Ren.”

Ben pulled himself from the memory. A chill ran down his spine, his breathing was rapid. People who go through war never come out of it unchanged. Spies had it worse.

He glanced out the window again. Rey was going through the same routine that he used when he was done with the stances, the same routine that Luke had taught him. Somehow he found comfort in the familiarity of the motions.

Ben glanced at the side-table and noticed for the first time that there was a tray of food waiting for him. He smiled, knowing from the selection who exactly had left the food there.

It seemed that despite all he had done, he still had friends.

***

As Rey wiped the sweat from her brow, she noticed that there was a change in the presence she was keeping an eye on. She knew that the courtyard she was in was close to Kylo Ren’s room. She chose this exact location to keep an eye on the man.

Despite General Organa’s assurance that he was on their side the whole time, despite Master Luke’s willingness to allow him back into the Order, Rey didn’t trust him. Finn would probably call her paranoid, but she knew that Poe would agree with her.

No one comes back from the Dark Side unchanged. And Kylo Ren was deep inside Snoke’s inner circle, you couldn’t get any more Dark Side than that.

Rey knew the exact moment he woke up. She sensed it using the Force. It probably wasn’t considered a proper way of using the Force, but given the circumstances, and given who she was observing, she thought that it was justified.

Still, she respected his privacy. She only needed to know where he was, not what he was thinking. She knew that if he step so much as an inch out of line, several members of the Resistance would not hesitate to shoot him down, General Organa’s son or not.

Rey probed a bit, focusing on him rather than just sensing him as she was previously doing. Something good had happened, a small thing that made him happy.

She shrugged. She figured that even villains like him deserved some modicum of happiness.

“Rey!” a voice called, snapping her attention away from the Force.

Finn walked up to her, a big grin on his face. Finn was nice that way. Honest. With him what you saw was what you got.

“Oh you’re up,” she smirked, causing him to blush a little.

Earlier when she had gone off to look for them, she found Poe fine and alert in the mess hall. When she enquired about Finn, the pilot had laughed.

“Finn?” Poe clarified. “He’s still sleeping off last night’s excesses!”

The rest of the table laughed. Rey didn’t understand fighter pilots, they seemed to have their own little subculture. If she spent more time with them, she would probably figure them out. Poe motioned for her to take the seat across from him, and she did. They had enough food on the table that she didn’t need to go and get her own.

“He’s a lightweight,” Jessika Pava commented. “But he’s not bad. For a former trooper that is.”

“Cut him some slack,” Snap said, waving his hand. “The boy didn’t have a choice in becoming a trooper, but he did decide to bail out when he saw how bad things were.”

“Well there’s that,” Jessika conceded.

“And he busted Poe out!” Snap continued, nudging Poe in the ribs. “Bad guy turned good guy to save the damsel in distress, am I right?”

“Oh please,” Poe brushed off the banter. “I was clearly going to get out on my own. Finn just… expedited the process.”

“Oh really?” Rey lifted an eyebrow. “From what I heard, you were strapped to a table, and he had to walk you at gunpoint towards a TIE fighter. How exactly were you planning to escape if he didn’t rescue you?”

“It would’ve happened,” Poe grinned, suave as he always was.

“Yeah right,” Jessika rolled her eyes. She was quite used to calling Poe out. “The guy saves you, the damsel, don’t argue.”

She raised a finger just as Poe opened his mouth. He pursed his lips, fully intending on protecting his reputation. She just pointed the finger at him.

“Don’t start with me Dameron,” she warned. Poe raised his arms in surrender. “Good. Now where was I?”

“Poe the damsel,” Snap reminded, thoroughly amused.

“Right, Poe the damsel,” Jessika nodded. “Was saved by Finn, who had decided to turn his back on all he knew. They steal a fighter, crash land on Jakku, and get separated, but not before Poe leaves Finn a favour.”

“His jacket,” Snap snickered.

“His jacket,” Jessika agreed.

“His jacket?” Rey asked, not understanding the significance.

“It’s nothing!” Poe started, but another raised finger from Jessika silenced him.

“Poe leaves behind his jacket,” Jessika continued. “His favourite jacket. The jacket that he is very much attached to. When he gets back to headquarters he goes on and on about missing his jacket. But he sees that his saviour has his jacket, Poe tells the guy to keep it!”

“It looked good on him,” Poe weakly argued. Rey usually saw the more confident side of him, to see him like this, with his other friends, made her snicker.

“A likely excuse,” Jessika countered. “Dameron you need to own up to the kid, or else you’d probably lose ‘em.”

“Given that you sat with him every day while he was healing,” Snap supplied. Poe didn’t even know that his fellow pilots knew how much time he spent sitting with Finn. “I’d say you have it bad Poe.”

They both looked at Rey, fully expecting her to chime in with words of encouragement. She wasn’t used to being part of a group, but it felt good. She gave it her best.

“Well,” she hesitated, Jessika nodded in encouragement. “Finn doesn’t hate you.”

Poe snorted, which eventually evolved into laughter. Jessika and Snap looked like they were holding their own laughter back. Rey wondered what was wrong with what she said.

“Sorry Rey,” Poe apologised once he stopped laughing. “We forgot that you’re new to this. But that was the worst encouragement to pursue someone that I have ever heard.”

“What do you know?” Jessika asked. “You never usually need encouragement to go after someone.”

“Finn’s different,” Poe smiled. “Can we talk about something else?”

They changed the topic, respecting Poe’s wishes. They carried on talking about nothing in particular. Rey was surprised that she had actually enjoyed herself.

After they dispersed, Rey spent time in the library, reading. She waited for the temperature to cool down a bit before setting off to the courtyard. She was already going to sweat from the exercise, she didn’t need the additional water loss that sun exposure would cause.

Growing up in Jakku meant that she was aware of little things like that.

“Rey?” Finn asked, waving a water bottle in her face. “Need this?”

“Thanks,” she said, accepting the bottle.

They walked over to a nearby bench and sat down in the shade. They sat there in a companionable silence as Rey rehydrated herself.

“So,” she said after a long gulp. “What’s up?”

“It’s nothing,” Finn replied. Rey raised an eyebrow, causing him to sigh. “It’s just. The war is over and everybody else has plans. But I don’t?”

“Oh.”

“Exactly, oh,” Finn continued. “You’re going off with Luke Skywalker to become a Jedi. Poe is going home to see his mom before getting a new assignment from General Organa. I’ve got nothing.”

“Finn,” Rey said, putting an arm on his shoulder. It had slipped her mind that Finn only had them.

“Poe and I talked about this once,” he said. “He told me I could stay with him after everything’s through. But we were at war, he was probably just being nice. Neither of us expected to make it out alive.”

Rey stayed quiet. She could sense that Finn needed to talk, and she would let him. She knew that friends did that for each other.

“I doubt he remembers that though,” Finn shook his head.

He was obviously upset about something, but Rey couldn’t tell if it was because Finn thought he had no prospects or because he thought that Poe wouldn’t want him to stay by his side.

Rey couldn’t even tell Finn that she knew Poe would want them to stay together, not without somehow breaking Poe’s confidence.

“Maybe you should talk to him?” Rey suggested. If she couldn’t tell Finn outright, the next best thing was to send him to Poe.

“I can’t do that now,” Finn recoiled. “Not after last night!”

“Last night?” Rey asked, her eyes narrowing. “Why? What happened last night?”

“We fell asleep on the same bed,” Finn whispered, as if saying it out loud would make things worse. “And we- well we- it’s just- everything’s awkward alright?”

“Oh!” Rey’s eyes widened and a blush appeared on her cheeks.

“Not like that!” Finn exclaimed, her blush causing him to blush as well. “Stop blushing!”

“Blushing doesn’t work that way!” she reminded him. “You stop blushing!”

“It doesn’t work that way!” he said before laughing at the silly turn that their conversation took.

Rey ended up laughing along with him. Once his laughter had died down however, his expression turned serious.

“Things are awkward between us,” Finn admitted. “Ever since we woke up this morning. I had to pretend to go back to sleep because Poe was acting weird. I’ve been avoiding him for the whole day. He’s my friend Rey, things shouldn’t be like this.”

“You should talk to him,” Rey advised. “Nothing would happen if you kept avoiding him.”

“Right,” Finn nodded. “You’re a good friend Rey.”

He stood and stretched, obviously about to leave. He gave her a light punch on the arm.

“I’ll see you later.”

She let him walk a few paces away from her. His back was straight and his stride had purpose.

“Where are you going?” she called out, causing Finn to pause.

“To find Poe,” Finn replied, looking over his shoulder before continuing walking. “We have some stuff to talk about.”

Rey smiled at his retreating back. She hoped that whatever happened between those two would only bring them closer, not farther apart.

She stayed in the courtyard until it got dark, letting her mind wander in the Force. She could sense the people in the headquarters, some better than others. Master Luke, General Organa, and Kylo- no, it was Ben now, they were very easy to pinpoint.

Rey focused her attention to her two friends. She didn’t have the specifics, but she could see enough to know that emotions were high. She worried her lip with her teeth. Hopefully things wouldn’t come to blows.

Then the mood shifted, emotions were still high, but different.

Rey pulled herself away. Her friends deserved some privacy after all.

As her mind made it back to her body, another mind brushed against hers.

Ben Solo.

 _What do you want?_ She asked, not without a bit of anger.

He didn’t reply. Instead he closed his mind off. She would have tried to pry it open, much like he did to her when they first met, but she didn’t.

Master Luke had told her that Ben would probably join them.

While she couldn’t guarantee that she would become his friend, she knew that they should at least be on civil terms. For Master Luke, if nothing else.

Breaking into his mind, and she knew she could, would not foster any good feelings.

She gathered up her things and made her way to the mess hall. Establishing rapport with Ben Solo could wait.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's Ben's friend? Where's Luke? Who knows where this is going because I don't! (shh, I do actually)
> 
> I apologise, I have an exam in a few hours, my laptop died while I wrote this, before I saved so I had to re-type some parts, and I lack sleep/caffeine. I promise that stormpilot is going to be in the background from now on, and that in the next chapter, Rey and Ben will see each other! And not just via the Force.


	4. Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke is concerned. Ben is sulky. Rey is confused.

A few days had passed before Luke could see Rey for longer than a few minutes again. In his defence, he was busy helping Leia with negotiations. Peace was trickier to manage than war apparently. War had united them against a common enemy in pursuit of a common goal.

Peace would turn them against each other.

Leia had her work cut out for her. Luke did not envy her at all.

His own task was also a hard one. Rebuilding the Order the first time was difficult, because the Jedi were considered a myth. Rebuilding the Order now would be even harder, what with the history of the massacre that had happened.

At least now he had Rey to help him. Ben as well, if his nephew decided to join them.

Luke was on the way to visit Ben in the infirmary room. He had already been given a clean bill of health, but Luke hadn’t seen him anywhere. Leia said that he was eating all the meals that were being brought to him. Even the special snacks that were sent over had been consumed.

When Luke heard that Ben was receiving food from an unknown person, he was concerned. He said as much to Leia over a private dinner in her room. Han was already asleep when they got in, peace talks tended to proceed well into the night.

“It could be poisoned,” Luke pointed out. “He’s not well-liked here.”

“Oh please,” Leia said. “That is an understatement. Just say it like it is without your usual twisty Jedi words.”

“Han has rubbed off on you,” Luke observed.

“Of course he has,” Leia waggled her eyebrows.

“Not a good mental picture Leia,” Luke pretended to gag, making her laugh.

He let her have her moment. She deserved to laugh, after all the things that she had been through, Leia deserved every bit of happiness. When her laughter died down into little giggles, he continued the conversation.

“’My usual twisty Jedi words’?” he smiled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah right farm-boy,” Leia replied. “You have mind tricks and you’re not afraid to use them.”

“You’re one to talk,” Luke said. “Twisty words are your specialty Princess. Politics does that to a person.”

“Hey!” she exclaimed, planning to disprove what he said.

But she thought about it for a bit and had to concede. Politics did do that to a person. She had been playing that game for most of her life.

“Well,” she said. “You have a point. Be that as it may Luke, you got Han to stay. Thank you for that.”

“I’m your brother,” Luke shrugged. “If I don’t look out for you, who will?”

“I can do that perfectly fine on my own,” Leia mock punched him on the shoulder. “But thank you all the same.”

“Now about the food that Ben’s been getting,” he changed the topic.

 “It’s not something to be worried about,” Leia said, waving her hand in dismissal. “I know who’s sending him the treats.”

Luke smiled as he remembered what Leia had told him. It was comforting to know that even though Ben was generally hated at headquarters, there were still some people who cared enough to remember him as he was from the days before he was known as Kylo Ren. People who weren’t family that is.

Despite his exoneration though, Ben just didn’t seem to want to leave the prison of his own making. He hadn’t once left the room.

The Jedi Master couldn’t help but wonder if Ben picked up being broody from him. Or maybe it ran in the family. Old Ben had told him some ridiculous stories about his father over the years.

Luke had chosen exile when the massacre happened. He had failed his students, and worse, he had failed his family. Perhaps Ben felt the same and decided to pull away from society.

He wouldn’t let that happen. He had failed Ben once, he would not fail his nephew again.

Luke knocked on the door.

***

Ben gazed up at the ceiling of his room. The first few days inside had been a respite from all the issues in his life. In this room, he was simply Ben Solo again.

His mother came in after she dealt with the day’s politics. He could acknowledge his father, it was nice to be able to call him that again rather than calling him ‘Han Solo’ even in his mind, fearing that Snoke would find out where his true allegiance lay.

His father visited him as well, sometimes when he was asleep. Han would just sit there. Ben would wake up but pretend to still be asleep, letting his father have that moment. Han’s scent comforted Ben.

While the attention and inaction was all good and fine when he was still recuperating, he had been told the previous day that he was as healed as he could be. It wasn’t a moment too soon because Ben thought that he would go crazy in the isolation.

He had no idea how Masters Yoda and Kenobi survived all those years without going crazy. Then again, from the stories that his Uncle Luke had told him, Master Kenobi wasn’t in complete isolation. Master Yoda was… eccentric.

Ben looked out his window, hoping to see something, anything, that would distract him from his boredom. He should be out there practicing his stances, refining his technique. Instead he was all cooped up in his sick room practising how to get objects to come to him because he couldn’t go anywhere without being stared at.

People thought that they were being subtle, but he could feel their eyes all the same. It was the same as when he first joined the First Order. He would always be some sort of spectacle or another. The grandson of Vader, the Princess and the Hero’s son, the Jedi’s nephew, all little epithets that were used to describe him at some point in his life.

Even when people started taking notice of him, they noticed Kylo Ren. The mass murderer, the traitor, the patricide, different titles but they essentially meant the same thing to him.

Nobody ever just saw Ben. They just saw who they wanted to.

A knock on his door turned his mind away from those thoughts.  He wondered who it could be. His mother always just entered after she knocked. His father didn’t usually knock. He shook his head. Nobody else would come visit. It would be his Uncle.

“Come in,” Ben called out.

The door opened, and to Ben’s surprise, it wasn’t his uncle who entered.

Rey took a step inside the room. Her head was held high but she looked uncomfortable. Her eyes assessed her surroundings.

“I don’t have a trap in here,” Ben said, guessing her thoughts.

“I’m not looking for a trap,” she replied, but her eyes told him otherwise.

“Then why don’t you come further inside?” he goaded, fully expecting her to leave him alone.

“I’m not afraid of you,” she said.

She closed the door behind her as she walked towards him. He had to admire her courage. Or was it stupidity?

It wasn’t that long ago that they had been enemies, fighting each other to the death. He doubted that, in the short time since their last battle, she had completely forgotten the atrocities he had committed in the war. Perhaps she came here to finish him off?

Wouldn’t that be completely Sith of her?

“I never said you were,” he responded, inwardly smirking. “How can I help you?”

“This room is nice,” she said, completely ignoring his question.

He never thought that she was the type to evade things. Well wasn’t she surprising him today?

“It’s a sick room,” he replied nonchalantly. “There isn’t much to it.”

“Right,” she shifted uneasily.

“Why are you here Rey?” he asked.

As nice as it was to get a visitor who wasn’t family, Ben didn’t think he was up for a visit from someone who nearly killed him, whom he nearly killed. Not now anyway. Not yet.

“Has Master Luke told you about his plans?” Rey asked. At his quirked eyebrow, she continued. “The school?”

“He hasn’t,” he replied. “I figured that he would re-open the school. The Jedi will always be needed.”

“Right,” she nodded. “Has he told you that he plans to ask you to come and join us?”

“I assumed,” he said. “Did you come here to--”

“I don’t like you,” Rey cut him off. “I think you are one of the most despicable creatures in the galaxy. It does not matter that you were playing the role of a spy. You allowed things to happen, evil things.”

Rey took a breath, glaring at him, daring him to say something. Ben sat there and waited. He knew when to talk and he knew when to listen. Growing up with Leia Organa and Han Solo wasn’t all political parties and daring flights on the Falcon.

“I’ll accept that we will have to work together,” she continued. “But do not expect me to be your friend. I can and will be civil to you, but only out of respect for General Organa and Master Luke. Understood?”

Ben schooled his features into indifference. Here he hoped that she was different. That she would look past his façade and see Ben.

That their connection through the Force could help her see him.

But there was no such thing as a magical connection. All she knew of him was that he was a monster, and a monster he stayed in her mind.

“Understood,” he coldly replied. “If that was all?”

“It was,” Rey nodded.

Before she could turn and leave, a knock sounded at the door. Luke entered without waiting for an invitation and stopped when he saw that Rey was in the room. One glance at his nephew’s steely face told Luke all that he needed to know.

“Rey,” Luke said, tilting his head towards the corridor. “I need to speak with you.”

“Of course Master,” she nodded and beat a hasty exit.

When she had left the room, Luke turned his attention to his nephew. Ben’s mask of indifference slipped. The younger man just looked tired.

“Ben?” Luke asked slowly.

“It was nothing I didn’t deserve Uncle,” Ben replied. “Was there something?”

“Nothing that couldn’t wait,” Luke guaranteed.

“Good,” Ben nodded. “I suddenly don’t feel well Uncle. I think I should get some rest.”

“Of course,” Luke agreed. “Rest well.”

“I’ll try.”

Luke left the room, leaving Ben alone once more.

Ben knew what his Uncle came there for. He was going to ask Ben to help with the school. With the anger that Rey threw his way, he wondered if it would be a good idea.

It was going to take a lot of work, especially if she would keep her anger.

Ben shook his head and reconsidered exile.

Perhaps Tatooine had progressed in the years since his Uncle had left it.

***

Rey waited for Luke in the corridor. She didn’t understand what came over her. She initially intended to talk to Ben and offer a hand in friendship. Not that she would literally give him a hand, what with the propensity of the Skywalkers to lose limbs or cut them off and all.

It surprised her that one moment she was about to tell him that she was looking forward to teaching with him, then the next thing she knew, she was spewing hate at him.

She was aware that she had harboured some anger with regards to his actions in the war, she thought that she had gotten over what he had done because he had done them for the greater good. Or some of the things he had done, at the very least.

But when he had teased her, she just lost her composure.

His scar probably had something to do with it. His scar and their conversation. Both reminded her somehow of their first meeting. Of how he had almost killed Finn before they had their first lightsaber battle. Of how, she later found out, he had Poe tortured in that same room she was held in.

She had gotten angry and she lashed out.

“Rey,” Master Luke called her attention.

She turned to face him, hanging her head in remorse. Remorse not because of what she had done, but because she had done so in anger. This was the path to the Dark Side, and Rey did not want to go anywhere near it.

“Master Luke,” Rey bowed her head in greeting.

“Are you alright?” he asked, giving her a once over.

“I,” she paused. “I’m fine Sir.”

He gave her a troubled look. It was one that she was familiar with. It had been fairly common for her to see that look when she was training. Usually, he showed it to her whenever she would deny any problems with regards to her past.

“I really am fine Sir,” she insisted.

His expression turned doubtful, but he inclined his head anyway. She was glad that he knew when to push and when to give her space. Sometimes she wondered if he use the Force to read people because she didn’t think growing up on a farm in Tatooine would make him as good at reading people as he was.

“Very well,” he accepted. “Walk with me.”

He led the way and she followed. They got some stares, but only because it was unusual to see both Jedi together. When they got to a part of headquarters that wasn’t so populated, Luke broke the silence.

“How’s your arm?” Luke asked, making Rey almost trip.

She had expected him to ask her about what just happened in the infirmary. Or something regarding her training. She didn’t think he would ask her about a paltry wound that had closed up a few days back.

“Completely healed,” she informed him. “It doesn’t bother me while doing the training exercises anymore.”

“Good, good,” he replied. “I’m sorry for not being around much recently. Leia and I had some meetings to attend.”

“I understand,” Rey said. “The gossip around headquarters is that the General was using you to get her way.”

“Like she would need my help,” Luke chuckled. “She did help us secure a location for the school.”

“Sir?” Rey stopped in her tracks. Luke paused, noticing that she stopped and turned back to look at her.

He had told her before that they needed a place to build the school. The old Jedi Order had a Temple on Coruscant. The place where Luke built his school after the Empire’s downfall wasn’t a good place to rebuild. That place had too many bad memories.

“The council has granted us a place where we could teach a new generation of Jedi in peace,” Luke informed her. “It will take time to build the school itself of course, but a place to build it in is a start.”

“That’s good news,” Rey replied.

“It is,” he agreed.

They continued walking.

“Master?” she inquired, after a few steps.

“Yes Rey?”

“Does this mean that we’ll be going off soon?”

She was excited to get started, she really was. But a part of her was also reluctant to say goodbye to Finn and Poe, and all the rest of the Resistance.

“Not yet,” Luke shook his head. “We still have things that need to be done here.”

“Okay.”

Luke led her into a courtyard. It was the same one she used for practice. He walked over the opposite end, the one near the building, and picked up two practice swords. He tossed one to her. She caught it with ease.

“You must be tired of just doing the stances,” he said with a wink, removing his outer robe to show that he means business. “Shall we spar?”

Rey grinned as Luke’s robe fell to the ground. He said that he learned the ‘dramatic’ style of fighting from Obi Wan Kenobi after the war. Rey didn’t understand why they had cloaks when they were just going to drop it on the ground before a battle.

Still she had to admit that it was dramatic. Maybe peace needed a bit of drama, so life wouldn’t get boring.

She raised the sword and sketched a bow, which Luke reciprocated.

Her grin widened as she lunged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Gasp* Rey feels the pull of the Dark Side!
> 
> I made this instead of studying for my exams that are in a few hours, bc I love to live dangerously.
> 
> All joking aside, I hope you guys enjoy this. Tell me what you think?


	5. Apologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke is sick of politics. Ben is healed but not quite up to par yet. Rey, Finn, and Poe are good friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Possible trigger warning for canonical character death (storm trooper).

Luke had not been kidding when he said that there was still much that needed to be done before they could go off and establish the school. There were problems with getting some of the ambassadors to agree to Jedi supervision, especially given that Luke was Leia’s brother.

The ambassadors were concerned that Luke would side with Leia in all matters, hence skewing the vote in favour of her decisions. One vote didn’t seem to matter much to the Jedi, but the politicians tended to agree that there were issues that would only need one vote to tip the scales.

Despite insisting that the Jedi would exist in a separate capacity, there were still some sceptical looks shot in his direction.

Personally, Luke felt that they were only protesting his presence because he was Vader’s son, and that he had failed to prevent the uprising of the First Order in the first place. Leia was clearly one of them, bred if not born. But despite his years as a Jedi, the ten years of his exile seemed to be all that mattered to some people.

The meeting had adjourned for a break, and Luke really needed to get away from the politicians. Leia only needed to take one look at his face to wave him off. There were some battles that Leia had the advantage over Luke.

Luke left as quickly as he could without seeming like he was escaping. He avoided the mess hall, there were too many people there who would want his attention. He made his way to the Falcon, knowing that Han and Chewie were probably there.

There were some things that only old friends could help with. That and Han knew how tedious politicians were since he was married to Leia.

“What’s up kid?” Han greeted as Luke entered the ship.

He waved a wrench in Luke’s direction. Chewbacca was nowhere in sight.

“Hey Han,” Luke replied. “Where’s Chewie?”

“That fuzzball?” Han clarified. “He’s off getting us lunch. Have you eaten?”

 “No. But I’m not that hungry,” Luke said just as his stomach growled. Han raised his eyes brow. Luke shook his head and gave the older man a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”

“Ah, don’t worry,” Han waved his hand. “Chewie usually brings a lot.”

“He does?” Luke asked, clearly not remembering the Wookie like that.

“He’s been hovering since I got back,” Han admitted. “My fault, I guess.”

“Ah that explains it,” Luke nodded. “He must’ve missed you.”

“Missed me? Pah!” Han scoffed. “He went off on an adventure with Rey, smart girl by the way.”

Luke nodded in agreement.

“I doubt that he missed me at all,” Han shrugged it off.

“Right,” Luke gave him a smirk.

“What’s with that smug look?” Han’s eyes narrowed.

“You missed Chewie too,” Luke teased.

“Please,” Han replied acerbically.

One look from Luke made Han throw up his hands in defeat. Sometimes Luke was just like Leia. Han seemed to have a weak spot for the two.

“Fine,” Han admitted. “I may have missed the walking carpet too.”

“Hgraoo!”

“Hey Chewie!” Luke greeted.

The Wookie just walked past Luke. He set the food he brought on the table. Luke’s smile widened as he watched Chewie tackle hug Han.

“Let. Go. Fuzzball!” Han gritted out. “I. Missed. You. Too.”

Chewie let out another growl as he lifted Han clear off the floor. Luke chuckled. There was nothing like the company of old friends.

***

Ben did some warm up stretches. The medical team had cleared him for some physical activity. He figured that he could restart his training.

He was in the courtyard that Rey had used. Ben figured that it was probably the best place for him, since it was isolated and quite close to his room in the infirmary. He wasn’t there because he thought that Rey would be training there too. To manufacture a meet up between them would be ridiculous, given how their last encounter went.

They needed to clear the air between them if they were going to work well together.

His muscles complained. A couple of weeks of inactivity did a number on him.

Ben didn’t mind the pain and pushed through to go through his stances. With every movement, he could feel his muscles shaking and his breath shortening.

He shook his head.

He was Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren. Sure he had been convalescing, but he was better than this.

Ben continued to push himself.

When he finished the first routine, he was drenched in sweat, shaking, and barely catching his breath. He took a big gulp from his water bottle. He shook his head and assumed the position for the next round of exercises.

A slow clap got his attention.

“Wow,” Poe said as he walked up to Ben. “You’re determined.”

“Dameron,” Ben acknowledged the pilot as he began moving through the second routine, ignoring his body’s demand for rest.

“Ren,” Poe replied.

A lesser man would have dropped the practice sword. A lesser man would have stopped mid-routine. Ben Solo was not a lesser man.

“Still mad at me for that?” Ben asked, his voice a bit shaky.

“Not really,” Poe shrugged. “I mean, you did capture me, had me tortured, probably killed off some of my friends, and done a bunch of other terrible things. Can’t really blame me, can you?”

Ben finished up the routine, breathing heavily. Poe handed him the water bottle, which he accepted gratefully.

“I can’t blame you,” Ben said. “I have done terrible things.”

“All in the name of the greater good I guess?” Poe asked.

“It was,” Ben nodded.

A silence fell on them and Ben decided that he should proceed with the third routine. Hopefully, Poe would take that as his cue to leave.

“Are you still going to continue?” Poe asked, familiar with the stances since he and Finn sometimes watched as Rey would go through them.

“That’s the plan,” Ben said as he began.

“Are you crazy?” Poe asked incredulously.

The pilot could see that the other man was shaking. He was quite familiar with fatigue, and knew what his own limits were. True, he didn’t know Ben Solo’s physical limitations, but judging from how he looked as he lunged coupled with the fact that he just got out of the infirmary, figuratively speaking that is, Poe didn’t think that Ben should have been doing all that exercise.

“The doctors gave me a clean bill of health,” Ben said in between breaths. “This is nothing.”

“Are all the Jedi so stubborn?” Poe asked, not really expecting an answer.

He knew that Luke Skywalker had a reputation for being stubborn. General Organa liked to talk about her brother. Poe could tell that the General had missed him when he was in exile.

From personal experience, he knew that Rey was also a bit hard-headed. Poe figured that it was just part of her charms. After all, one didn’t survive as a scavenger out on Jakku if they were quick to give up.

“Ha!” Ben gave a bark of laughter. “It comes with being a Jedi.”

“So you all have be strong-willed to control the Force or something?” Poe joked.

“Or something,” Ben agreed.

Poe watched quietly as Ben carried on with his routine. The pilot knew that it had a tricky spin before it ended. Rey performed that spin with such grace. She did all her routines gracefully, albeit with a killer edge.

Ben’s movements were different. Less fluid, but Poe assumed that it was because the other man was exhausted. There was an anger underneath his motions, Poe couldn’t tell exactly who was the anger directed at. It gave Ben a dangerous aura.

As Ben was performing the spin, he suddenly felt light-headed, then proceeded to fall to the ground. He knew when he began the third routine that he wasn’t at his best and that he was close to his limit. But he didn’t want to appear weak in front of the pilot.

Whatever Poe would see he would report to Rey.

Ben did not want her to know that he was not at his best. Not when she could argue that he be left behind because he was just going to be a handicap.

“Woah there,” Poe said as he helped Ben up. “Wasn’t expecting that.”

“Me neither,” Ben admitted, cursing himself for falling. He hadn’t failed to complete the routines since he was a child.

“Slowly,” Poe advised. “Sitting up too fast would give you vertigo.”

“Thank you,” Ben said. “Not many people here would help.”

“True,” Poe agreed. “They’d probably kick you while you were down.”

Ben flinched. He knew that he was still generally hated. But he didn’t think that the Resistance, who won and had no reason not to be humble and gracious in their victory, would stoop so low.

Then again, he knew that if the First Order had won, the members of the Resistance would have been annihilated, not subjugated.

“Alright?” Poe asked, flashing Ben his winning smile.

“A bit,” Ben nodded. “Thanks again.”

“Don’t mention it,” Poe replied, pulling Ben up on his feet. “Just, no more training today alright?”

Ben nodded again. He wondered if he should apologise for his actions during the war. His thoughts must’ve been broadcasted on his face because Poe just shook his head.

“It was war,” Poe said, cutting off the awkward apology he knew was coming. “We all had to do things that we aren’t proud of.”

“I--” Ben began but Poe cut him off with a raised hand.

“I know you don’t feel like it right now,” Poe explained. “And I know that the rest of the Resistance sure don’t see you as one, but you’re a hero Ben Solo.”

“What?” Ben asked.

“You’re a hero,” Poe reiterated. “You went far above and beyond what had to be done just to end the war that much quicker. That’s pretty heroic in my book. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

Poe left Ben there. The pilot was quite dramatic, knowing exactly when to time his entrances and exits. Ben couldn’t help but stare at Poe’s retreating back.

Perhaps not all of the Resistance hated him.

***

“I saw that,” Rey said as she fell into step with Poe. “Calling him a hero? Are you alright Poe?”

“Yeah,” Finn agreed, walking on Poe’s other side. “What was that all about?”

“Listen,” Poe stopped to face his friends. “The man has no friends. Nobody here appreciated him and what he’s done for all of us. I was just extending an olive branch.”

Poe continued walking, not even minding that his two friends had such disbelieving looks on their faces. It didn’t last.

“After all he did to you!” Rey gestured wildly with her arms. “After what he did to Finn! To me!”

“He is despicable,” Finn pointed out. “I don’t think that being a spy excuses what he did. There are some things that you can’t come back from.”

“Finn?” Rey paused, shifting her attention from Poe to the other man.

“It’s nothing,” Finn shrugged. “Let’s go back to the topic at hand, yeah?”

“No,” Poe shook his head. “Something else is bothering you. Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Not particularly,” Finn gave them a wry smile. “But I know you two are going to push, so could we move somewhere less public?

The two nodded and the trio made their way to Poe’s quarters. Finn was also there, more often than not ever since he and Poe admitted some things to each other.

That her friends were together was a bittersweet feeling for Rey. On one hand, she was happy for the two of them, yet on the other hand, she felt that there was a shift in their dynamic as friends.

Master Luke had assured her that things would even out, that things were only that way because the relationship was new. But Rey had her doubts.

While Master Luke retained his friendship with Han and the General over the years, their dynamic was different because the two were siblings. Rey was just friends with Poe and Finn. Who knew what could change.

“It’s not about families of blood,” Master Luke had said as he tried to make her feel better. “Sometimes, it’s about families of choice.”

“Sir?” she had asked.

“Going through the war together,” he explained. “Going through all those tough trials together, cemented your bond with each other in such a way that just being blood relations with anyone could never compare to. Shared experiences make a relationship, not what’s coursing through your body.”

He was right, of course he was. Still, Rey couldn’t help but dread of the time when she would have to leave and start training younglings. Poe and Finn would go off to see Poe’s dad before they set off to try and find out what happened to Finn’s family.

When they arrived at Poe’s room, they made themselves comfortable. Finn was on the bed with Poe beside him. Rey opted to take a seat at the desk.

“It was when you were captured,” Finn said, motioning to Poe. “The first time.”

“Right,” Poe nodded encouragingly.

“It was my first combat mission,” Finn continued. “I had a friend. FN-2003, but we called him Slip because he kept slipping on things and falling.”

Rey listened and watched Finn’s face. There was happiness there, from recalling his friend, but she knew that at the end of this story, Slip would not be alive. He was a storm trooper after all, and only one of them ever defected.

“Anyway,” Finn said, his small smile turning into a frown. “That day, while the skirmish was still going on, Slip fell. I thought that he fell because, hey, he’s Slip, he always falls. But he was down because he got hit.”

“Finn…” Poe’s eyes widened. The pilot was aware that he had probably killed a few of the people that Finn knew, but he never figured that he had killed a friend.

“It was war,” Finn reasoned. “We were raised to fight. We were raised to die. I realized that as I watched someone I know, someone I grew up with, take his last breath. I’ve seen a lot over the years, but that one stayed with me.”

Rey was speechless. She had seen death, she had dealt death, but the only one that really affected her was watching Han die, or at least thinking that he did. But she had only known him for a short time, nothing like what Finn went through. She had no idea what to say.

“Finn,” Poe said, his tone contrite.

“No,” Finn cut him off. “It was war, you were fighting for your life. Don’t apologize for that. Don’t ever apologize for that.”

Finn’s body shook with emotion. Poe sat there and held him. Rey put a hand on his, no knowing if it was welcome. Finn held her hand and squeezed.

They sat there for a moment, taking comfort in each other. It touched Rey to know that even though her friends had each other, they still welcomed her presence.

When Finn had gotten himself together, he shifted the topic back to Ben Solo.

“I just think he deserves a chance,” Poe explained. “You both heard the entire conversation.”

“We did,” they admitted without a hint of remorse for eavesdropping.

They had been there to defend Poe in case Ben did something. Poe was an ace of a pilot, which was a generally agreed upon fact. But when he was grounded, Poe was just a bit vulnerable. And they told him so.

“I’m sorry if I never underwent Storm Trooper or Jedi basic training,” Poe replied with sarcasm. “But I don’t need to be protected.”

“Of course not,” Finn placated him and Rey nodded along. Poe just scowled.

“Oh for the love of,” Poe stopped, knowing that he would never be able to convince the two otherwise. “The guy deserves a second chance, that’s all I’m saying.”

“Master Luke thinks so too,” Rey said. “But I don’t know if Kylo Ren should ever be forgiven.”

“Oh Rey,” Poe shook his head in pity. “Give the guy a shot.”

“With a blaster,” Finn supplied. “I don’t trust him either.”

Poe narrowed his eyes at Finn. Rey was going to be working with Ben for the foreseeable future. In front of, probably, impressionable children. If they were going to rebuild the Jedi, the foundation had to be solid.

“At least start calling him by his real name,” Poe said, reminding himself to take baby steps. Sometimes, Finn and Rey seemed so mature that he forgot that he was older than them. “Ben Solo.”

“If I must,” Rey said graciously. “But only because Kylo Ren sounds ridiculous without his mask.”

In truth, Rey knew that she should get used to calling the guy ‘Ben’. They were going to be in close contact with each other for prolonged periods of time, after all.

“Good,” Poe nodded his approval. “Finn?”

“I promise I won’t glare at him that much,” Finn replied.

“Good enough,” Poe conceded. “I think I’ll ask him to eat lunch with us tomorrow.”

“WHAT?” both exclaimed.

“He has no friends,” Poe reasoned. “Having friends is good for his recovery.”

“Master Luke has been reluctant for us to go because of that,” Rey nodded. “But we are not his friends!”

“Maybe we should be.”

Rey gave it a thought. At this point she could only guarantee that she would be civil towards the other Jedi. But she knew that in the long run, being civil would not help the Jedi.

Rey didn’t do things half-baked. She supposed that she should at least try.

_Do or do not, there is no try._

A voice in her head spoke.

Rey kept the scowl off of her face, not wanting to alert her friends that a Force-ghost just spoke to her. As much as she hated to admit it, Master Yoda was right.

For important things, there was no try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this took so long to update! I've had a very stressful weekend what with school and exams.
> 
> I hope you liked this part! Tell me what you thought?


	6. Second Chances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The awkward lunch.

Poe was never one to back down from a plan, so when he told Rey and Finn that they were going to eat lunch with Ben Solo, it was going to happen. Even if he had to drag the man out by his ears, Ben Solo was going to eat lunch in the mess hall with them.

The pilot knocked on the door of Ben’s room and waited for an answer. After waiting a while, Poe knocked again, but still, nobody replied. Poe raised his fist to knock one last time when a voice startled him from behind.

“Looking for someone?” a nurse asked.

Poe turned around and gave the nurse his full attention, complete with his winning smile.

“Yeah,” Poe said, gesturing to the room. “Ben Solo, is he in?”

“Not unless he snuck back in without anyone noticing,” the nurse replied with a shrug. “He left a while ago, saying something about training.”

“Thanks,” Poe replied, knowing exactly where to find the man.

“Don’t hurt him, yeah?” the nurse said. “We only just cleared him yesterday. We don’t want to have to patch him up again, it was only for the General that we did so in the first place.”

Poe stared as the nurse walked away. Even in the infirmary, which was Ben’s only sanctuary, he was tolerated only because of who his mother was. The man clearly needed friends.

Poe made his way to the courtyard, and just as he expected, Ben was there. The former spy had just gone through routine number three and finished it off with the spin. He may have noticed that Poe had arrived, so he gave the spin a little extra flourish, just to show off.

“You really are stubborn, huh?” Poe asked in lieu of a greeting. “What would you have done if you passed out like you did yesterday?”

“I did not pass out,” Ben replied through breaths. “I just fell.”

“And here I was telling people that you swooned into my arms,” Poe joked.

“You what?” Ben asked, clearly alarmed.

“A joke,” Poe assured him, both hands raised to calm the other man.

“If you say so,” Ben replied sceptically.

“Back to your stubbornness,” Poe said. “You only just got better.”

“I am a Jedi,” Ben pointed out. “If I cannot run through simple drills that I would expect my pupils to learn, how would I expect them to respect me?”

“Of all the,” Poe shook his head in disbelief. “You don’t even have students yet.”

“But we will soon,” Ben explained. “I can feel them through the Force. They are young and afraid. They have abilities that make others ridicule and despise them. They need a place. My uncle knows this. We’ll probably be leaving soon.”

Poe stared in silence as he saw another side to Ben Solo. To be honest, he didn’t really expect that the other man would be looking forward to the responsibilities of being a teacher. The Kylo Ren that Poe knew didn’t seem to be the type to have the patience to teach anyone.

“What’s with that look Dameron?” Ben asked with a quirked eyebrow. He was getting ready to go into the fourth routine. He was tired, but he knew he could get through one more routine.

“Oh nothing,” Poe evaded, he doubted that the other man would appreciate his thought. “Still just wondering how you got to be so stubborn.”

“My mother would say my father,” Ben replied as he started the routine. “My father would say my mother.”

“Parents huh?” Poe laughed, remembering his own parents. He still missed his mother.

“Chewie would say that I turned out this way,” Ben continued. “Because of the both of them.”

“Chewie’s one smart wookie,” Poe replied, silently agreeing with that conclusion.

General Organa, amazing General as she was, was nothing if not stubborn. And from the stories that he heard of Han Solo, the man was as pig-headed as she was.

Poe let Ben finish the routine before saying anything else. He watched as the other man flowed through the motions, much better now that he was the previous day. Still, there was a bit of instability in the man’s movements.

“Why are you really here Dameron?” Ben asked as he wiped the sweat off his face. “I doubt it was to see me train.”

“Call me Poe,” Poe flashed a smile. “Friends don’t call each other by their last names.”

“We’re not friends,” Ben scoffed. “And you didn’t answer my question.”

“No I didn’t,” Poe agreed. He took a deep breath. Asking someone out on a date was easier than this. “I was looking for you.”

“You’re stalling,” Ben said. “Get to the point.”

“You caught me,” Poe admitted. At Ben’s pointed look, he sighed. “Fine. I was looking for you because I was wondering if you’d like to eat lunch at the mess with us.”

“I’m flattered Dameron, I really am,” Ben said nonchalantly. “But I don’t swing that way.”

Poe stared at the other man, who smirked right at him. It only took a moment for what was said to seep in, causing Poe to flush. Who knew that Ben Solo could make jokes?

“Not like that!” Poe denied, causing Ben to snicker. “I meant eat with us, me, Finn, and Rey.”

“As if those two would ever agree to this,” Ben waved his hand, remembering the vehemence with which Rey confronted him.

“They did!” Poe insisted. “They weren’t happy about it, but they agreed.”

“I see,” Ben nodded. “I can’t decline, can I?”

“Not really,” Poe gave a sheepish smile. “I told them you’d be there, see. And Poe Dameron doesn’t--”

“Think things through, apparently,” Ben snickered again. “Fine, I’ll go. But only because you helped me yesterday.”

Poe sighed in relief. He knew that getting Ben to agree to lunch with Poe and Rey, who were possibly two of the people at the base who hated him the most, was a long shot, but he had to try. The rest of the Resistance looked up to the three of them. If they were seen having lunch with Ben, who was still public enemy number one, maybe they’d be nicer to the guy.

“Shall we head there now?”

Ben nodded his agreement, not minding that he probably stank, drenched in sweat as he was. But his body told him he was hungry. He needed to rebuild his strength, eating is important.

***

Rey looked around the room, trying to spot Finn or Poe while balancing her lunch on a tray. So far, they weren’t at their usual table. She figured that she was the first one there, until she saw Finn wave at her from a corner table.

“Hi,” she greeted as she slipped into the seat across Finn.  “Why here?”

“More secure,” Finn explained. “It might make him more comfortable.”

“Good point,” she nodded. “Poe’s not here yet?”

“No,” he took a sip of his drink. “He’s off getting Ren.”

Rey gave him a pointed look. They had agreed that they would try and call Kylo Ren by his real name. Finn just shrugged.

“I can call him that when he’s not around, right?” Finn asked. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“It might slip out when he’s here,” Rey replied. “We don’t want him to think that Poe invited him just so we can antagonize him over lunch. We can’t do that to Poe.”

“Oh you’re right,” Finn grumbled. “I guess we should be nice. For Poe.”

They ate in silence, waiting for Poe to arrive. With every person who entered the mess hall, Rey and Finn’s heads turned to see who it was. If it wasn’t obvious to outsiders that something was going to happen because they weren’t seated in their usual spot, it was obvious that they were waiting for someone.

In this case, it was two someones.

When Poe and Ben entered the mess, the chatter gradually decreased as people turned to stare at the two. Poe gave people awkward smiles, while Ben just ignored them. Even as they got their food, it was awkward. The servers either gaped or glared at Ben, who defiantly made eye-contact with each of them.

Tension seemed to rise until Poe diffused the situation.

“Nothing to see here folks,” Poe charmingly announced. “Just friends getting lunch.”

Conversations resumed, though they were a bit quieter. Glances kept shooting Ben’s way, but he supposed that there wasn’t helping any of that.

The two made their way to the corner table where Finn and Rey were. Every other table they passed seemed to buzz with whispered words as they passed it.

 _What is_ he _doing here? What’s Poe doing with him? That murdering scum better not have taken the last piece of pie._

Ben understood the tension and the hate that was directed at him. He knew that agreeing to eat in the mess hall wasn’t a good idea. But he needed to redeem himself. Eating with the trio was good for him.

As they got to the table, Ben noticed that Rey had a fairly neutral look on her face. Finn on the other hand was trying to stop glaring at him, which Ben found hilarious, but seeing as how he was supposed to be making nice, he stopped himself from snickering.

Poe slid into the seat next to Finn, leaving the seat next to Rey for Ben. While he appreciated that the seat had a wall behind it, to prevent any surprizes, he thought that it would be uncomfortable for him and Rey to sit next to each other.

“Hi guys,” Poe greeted. When he saw Ben still standing, he motioned to the chair next to Rey. “Have a seat.”

Ben awkwardly sat down. His posture broadcasted just how uneasy he was. Rey noticed this of course, and she laughed at him.

“We’re not going to murder you,” she said, trying to alleviate the tension.

“Yeah,” Finn chimed in. “Not here at least.”

“Finn!” Poe exclaimed. Shooting Ben an apologetic look, he said. “I’m sorry, they were kidding.”

The two nodded, but Ben could tell that they were only doing it to appease Poe. He didn’t mind, he knew that they didn’t like him.

They ate in silence for a moment, not really knowing how to begin a conversation. Ben didn’t know how to socialize with former enemies. Of all of them at that table, it was only Poe who wasn’t completely uncomfortable.

“So,” Poe began. “Ben’s training again.”

“Oh?” Rey asked. “Are you well enough for that?”

“I was cleared yesterday,” Ben nodded.

“She’s talking about your dizzy spell,” Finn told him. “I’ve seen the training Rey puts herself through. If you’re still weak, you shouldn’t push yourself.”

While Finn might have meant it in a concerned way, since he was nice that way. Ben took it a little differently. He thought that they were making fun of him and calling him weak. His eyes narrowed.

“I’m fine,” he bit out.

“That’s good to know,” Rey said, not picking up on Ben’s anger. In her defense, she was seated beside him, so she didn’t really see the anger brewing on his face. “The General wouldn’t like it if you had a sudden relapse.”

Ben gave her a side glance. He wasn’t certain if she was just talking, or if she was also attacking him by implying that he was attached to his mother. He took a deep breath and exhaled. Getting angry now would help no one.

Another silence fell on the table and no one seemed inclined to break it. They ate quietly, fully aware that another wrong conversation would shatter the flimsy truce that Ben had agreed to.

The rest of the mess hall were still throwing them glances. Rey noticed that there were more people now than there were before Ben and Poe arrived. They were probably thinking that a fight would break out and they wouldn’t want to miss out on that.

A fight wouldn’t happen. Rey had promised herself that when she left her staff and saber in her room. She wasn’t sure if Finn was similarly unarmed though.

Finn was thinking that he should start another conversation. Awkward meals didn’t sit well with him. He also thought that Poe had gone through so much trouble getting Ben here, that it seemed like such a waste that they weren’t even going to try. No matter how much Finn despised the thought of talking to Ben Solo.

Still, he couldn’t help but think that ‘Have you killed anyone lately?’ wasn’t a good conversation starter.

Another hush fell over the room as Master Luke entered it. Rey watched as his eyes found them and he made his way over. Whatever it was, it was probably important. He had such purpose in his stride.

“Oh good, there you two are,” Luke said as soon as he got to their table. “Follow me. Quickly.”

Luke then turned on his heel and started walking out. Ben didn’t need telling twice. He rose from his seat, gave a nod to Finn and Poe, and followed his uncle out.

Rey flashed her friends a puzzled look and stood to follow. Just as she was about to leave, Poe stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“Rey,” Poe said. “Be nice to him, okay?”

She just nodded. She didn’t have time for this. But Poe wouldn’t let her go.

“Promise,” he insisted, knowing that Rey would never break her word.

“I promise I’ll play nice as long as he does,” she conceded. “But if he takes one step out of line…”

“I understand,” Poe nodded, happy with the promise he extracted. He let go of her and smiled. “Go. Take care.”

Rey nodded again and rushed off to catch up with the two.

When she was gone, Finn turned to face Poe. His lips pursed as he tried to phrase his question.

“Why are you being so nice to him?” Finn asked, still not understanding Poe’s reasoning.

“Because,” Poe explained. “You got a second chance. You were a storm trooper, an enemy of the Resistance. My enemy. And here you are now.”

“It’s not the same,” Finn argued. “I chose to leave that life. He chose to live it.”

“But he did so for the greater good,” Poe calmly pointed out. “You of all people should know that befriending him is the right thing to do.”

Finn paused, looking at Poe as if it was the first time he saw the other man. It never ceased to amaze him how caring the pilot was. Then again, he did save a storm trooper and give the guy a name.

“I don’t need a pilot,” Finn said, remembering their first conversation about right things and pilots. “I already have you.”

Poe blushed and snorted at the same time. People deserved second chances. If he didn’t think so, he doubted that he’d be as happy as he was now.

***

Master Luke and Ben were waiting for her at the entrance of the mess hall. When she got there, Luke just nodded and started walking. Not one to just blindly follow, Rey asked questions.

“Where are we going?” she asked, walking quickly because Luke was. “Why the rush?”

“There’s a child,” Luke explained. “He is strong in the Force, but he has no control over it. The people around him are scared. They intend to sacrifice him.”

“What?” Rey asked, pausing at the thought of a child being sacrificed. “What are we going to do?”

“We’re going to go rescue him,” Luke flashed her a smile.

“How?” Ben asked, trying to be the voice of reason. “We don’t even have a ship.”

They were at the hangar now. It was a bit deserted because it was lunch time, but two people were standing there. Han and Leia were standing in front of the Falcon, waiting for them.

“Yes we do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, rescue mission! And Ben needs a shower. *winkwink*
> 
> I like writing Poe. He's fun.  
> Tell me what you thought about this chapter or what you thought of this fic in general?


	7. In the Falcon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben takes a bath. Luke feels nostalgic. Rey gets surprised.

Ben paused as he saw his parents. Rey and his uncle continued walking towards the Falcon. He knew that his parent used to have adventures with his Uncle Luke, but this mission, saving a child, surely they had better things to do than tag along.

Having his father along made sense. He may be old, but Han Solo was still quick as a whip. He would definitely be helpful in a fight. Chewie as well. Ben supposed that the Wokiee was already in the ship.

His mother though was another story. He knew that she would be able to handle herself in a fight, but he didn’t really think it was a good idea to risk her. Not when there was still so much that she had to do for the Republic.

Then again, she was their best option if it came to political negotiations, which Ben supposed was the ideal way to save the child. If left up to them, they would probably end up declaring war without knowing it or something.

Luke stopped and gave him a look, prodding Ben to resume walking towards the ship. He refused to give in to the urge to scratch himself. He just recalled that he had gone straight from training to the mess to the hangar. In short, Ben Solo reeked. Good thing the Falcon had a ‘fresher.

“Master,” Rey said. “I don’t have my staff or my saber.”

“Ah those,” Luke said. “I gathered them from your room when I went to look for you there. I hope you don’t mind, time is of the essence.”

“Not at all,” Rey shook her head, seeing the value in what he did. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Luke smiled at her. “And Ben, I think your mother brought you some clothes.”

Ben maintained his composure even though he wanted to cringe. No matter how old one gets, when their mother is involved, they always feel like a little boy. He would have expected Rey to comment on it, but she just looked sad and a bit envious. He had forgotten that she didn’t have a family growing up.

“Good. You’re here,” Han said in lieu of a greeting. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

He boarded the Falcon without a backwards glance. Luke and Leia just shot each other exasperated looks as they followed. Rey waited for Ben to board the ship, when he didn’t, she gave him a look.

“Ladies first,” Ben said, waving his hand in the direction of the entrance.

“You go first,” Rey replied. She wasn’t hostile, but she wasn’t nice either. “I don’t trust you at my back. Yet.”

The last word was grudgingly added. Ben took what he could get. She didn’t trust him, she had no reason to. But seeing as how they would be working together, and it looked like it would be sooner than later, given the nature of their mission, he had to give her reasons to start trusting him.

So he entered the Falcon first, even though he trusted having her behind him as much as she trusted him. It was a comforting thought that he knew she had no weapons on hand.

He watched as Rey went directly to the cockpit, walking as if she owned the ship. He shrugged. The Falcon had been hers for a time. Maybe she was going to be co-pilot today or something.

Ben went directly into the Falcon’s Main Hold and slid into the booth next to the game board. He knew that his parents would be in the cockpit with Chewie. His uncle would probably take the last available seat in the cockpit, so Ben opted to stay in the Main Hold.

“Ben,” Leia said as she placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump.

“Mother,” Ben greeted.

“There are spare clothes in the quarters,” she told him. “Luke told me you needed a bath?”

“I reek,” Ben admitted. “I was training before he found us.”

“Training?” Leia asked, giving him a once over. “Are you sure you’re well enough?”

“I am,” he reassured her. “If I wasn’t, I doubt that you or Uncle Luke would bring me along, no matter the urgency.”

“True,” Leia conceded. “Still, as your mother, I reserve the right to worry about you.”

Ben smiled as she leaned down to pull him into a hug. It had been a long time since she had hugged him and he didn’t tower over her, so having her hold him while he was sitting and she was standing was comforting.

When she let go, he slid further inside the booth to give her some space to sit. She slid into the booth and smiled.

“You’re right,” she said, looking at him. “You do stink.”

Ben just snorted. His mother liked it when she one-upped his father. It was just how the two interacted with each other. Sometimes they would drag him into it. It was their form of showing affection, he guessed.

“Well,” Leia said as she patted his shoulder. “At least the Falcon has a good supply of water. Who knows if this thing’s recycling system still works.”

Ben smiled. He knew that his mother loved the Falcon as much as his father did. They had a lot of good memories on this ship.

“Hold on tight,” she reminded him, as they felt the Falcon power up. “You know how this bucket of bolts is like when it takes off.”

Ben smiled and did as she said, holding onto the game board for stability. When the Falcon took off, his stomach felt as if it was left behind. Ben hated that about this ship. His own Command Shuttle when he was in the First Order had a smooth take off and smoother landing. Then again, the Falcon was rather old, so he shouldn’t complain. At least it still flew.

“I should go take a bath now,” Ben said as he stood. “Please tell me the clothes are not brightly coloured.”

“Don’t worry,” Leia waved off his concern. “The clothes I brought should suit you.”

“That’s not a straight answer,” Ben noted.

“I’m dealing with a Jedi,” Leia smiled. “Who happens to be my son. He should know by now that politicians don’t give straight answers.”

“That was what I was afraid of,” Ben couldn’t help but smile. His mother had called him a Jedi. A subtle reminder that she knew there was goodness in him, that there was Light in him.

As he made his way to the ‘fresher, Ben’s smile never slipped, although he tripped a bit when the Falcon went into hyperdrive. Even when the whole galaxy had been against him, his mother was always on his side.

On entering the Crew’s Quarters, he noticed that Rey’s staff was leaning against one of the bunks. Ben ignored it in favour of the clothes on the other bunk in the quarters. He touched the fabric and found it soft. Ben unfolded them and held them at arms’ length away, just to inspect them.

The clothes were a dark grey colour, which made him sigh in relief. They were styled in a way similar to the Jedi robes he used to wear. He knew they would fit him perfectly.

Grabbing a towel, Ben made his way to the ‘fresher, leaving the clothes on the bed. Everyone else was currently occupied elsewhere. It would be alright if he just changed in the quarters rather than in the ‘fresher.

***

When Luke entered the cockpit, Han and Leia were arguing. He shrugged it off. It wasn’t anything unusual. Chewie, who was used to it too, just ignored it.

Luke quietly strapped himself into the seat behind Chewie. The sooner they take off, the better in his opinion.

“I can’t believe you were going to go off without saying anything! Again!” Leia said, her arms gesturing wildly.

“I figured Luke told you!” Han countered, gesturing at the Jedi.

“Don’t drag me into this,” Luke murmured. Thankfully, the couple ignored him.

“Of course Luke told me!” Leia replied. “He didn’t want me to worry! Now you--”

“Hi?”

All of them in the cockpit turned at the voice. It was Rey, who looked a bit uncomfortable at the argument. Leia shook her head and sighed, walking out of the cockpit without another word.

“Rey,” Han greeted, grateful for the break in their fight. He knew that it was a pause and not an end to the argument, he also knew that it was his fault. But there were some things that he just couldn’t back down from.

“Is everything alright?” she asked, clearly concerned.

“Everything’s fine,” Han said, taking his seat. “Just a little spat.”

Luke snorted. It wasn’t usual for him to revert back to his days as an innocent youth from Tatooine, but being with Han, Leia, and Chewie inside the Millennium Falcon had that effect on him. Whenever they went anywhere together after the Fall of the Empire, Luke didn’t feel as if he was the last Jedi. He always just felt like Luke Skywalker, the farm boy fresh off the farm in his first trip off-planet.

“Don’t start Luke,” Han warned, pointing a finger at him.

“Wasn’t gonna,” Luke said, raising his arms in mock surrender.

Rey watched their interaction with a smile on her face. Luke shot her a wink, which caused her to snicker.

“Don’t you start too,” Han warned her. “Or you fuzzball.”

Rey couldn’t help herself, she burst into laughter. Luke just sat there looking all smug. Han exhaled and started warming up the Falcon.

“Buckle up,” Han announced, not checking to see if they were doing so.

The Falcon lurched into the air. It really wasn’t a smooth take off, Luke noticed. Then again, he knew that most of Han’s take offs weren’t smooth because he was usually in a hurry to leave the place. Thinking back, Luke recalled that most of their departures was amidst an explosion or under enemy fire.

“We’re going to jump into hyperdrive as soon as we clear the planet’s orbit,” Han told them. “Even then, it’ll take a while to get to where we’re going.”

Nobody said anything, nor did Han seem to require a response. As soon as they were out of D’Qar’s gravitational field, he put them into hyperdrive.

“Where are we headed Master?” Rey asked.

“A small planet on the Outer Rim,” Luke replied. “Not quite far from here, but far enough.”

“We’re there to save a child?” Rey asked.

“Yes,” Luke nodded. “Strong in the Force and suffering. Can’t you hear the cry for help?”

“No,” Rey shook her head. “I feel a disturbance, a slight buzzing at the back of my head, but nothing more. It could be anything.”

“I see,” Luke nodded. “We should add that to your training. There are those who are naturally gifted in sensing other through the Force. Leia is one, even though she hasn’t had any training. Maz Kanata on Takodana is another.”

Luke could tell that Han was interested in the conversation. The former-smuggler liked to know things, just in case.

“Can you sense the child?” she asked.

“Not clearly,” Luke admitted. “I could sense the fear though. Maybe when we’re closer I could sense him better. Maybe when we land you could sense him too.”

“Him?”

“Or her,” Luke said. “I can’t tell.”

“Right,” Rey nodded, stifling a yawn. “I think I should go take a nap in the quarters.”

“Go,” Luke agreed. “You’ll need to be at your best when we get there. We don’t know what we’re going to be getting into.”

Rey nodded as she unbuckled herself from the seat and stretched. She was about to leave the cockpit when Luke called out.

“Rey?” he said.

“Yes Master?” she asked, stopping and turning to face him.

“Your staff and saber are in the quarters,” he replied. “I forgot to tell you.”

“Thank you Master,” she replied, slipping out of the room soon after.

They sat there in silence for a moment, before Leia peeked her head in. Seeing her, Han immediately raised his guard. The continuation of the argument was bound to happen.

“I come in peace,” Leia said. “I just didn’t like being in the Main Hold alone.”

She took the seat that Rey vacated. Luke turned to her with a question on his face.

“Alone?” he asked, “Where are Artoo and Threepio? And I thought Ben was with you?”

“I sent Ben off to bathe,” she said, causing them all to snicker because she made it sound like Ben was still a child. “And the droids have been in the galley since before we took off. I think Threepio was making lunch.”

“So Ben is in the ‘fresher?” Luke asked, sensing that something wasn’t right.

“I suppose so,” Leia shrugged. “But he’s not one to linger in a bath, he should be out by now. “Why?”

Luke quickly pinched his temple in an attempt to stave off a headache. Failing that, he unbuckled his seatbelt and stood, just as a scream pierced the air.

“That’s why.”

***

As Rey made her way through the Falcon to the quarters, she felt a bit sheepish at how she was treating Ben Solo. The man was obviously trying to be nice, agreeing to have lunch with them and all that. Yes, she didn’t trust him, but she wasn’t really giving him a chance.

Rey passed by General Organa in the access corridor. The older woman just acknowledged her with a smile and continued on to the cockpit. She wondered how a person with the General and Han Solo as his parents could be so socially awkward. She grew up mostly alone on a desert planet and she wasn’t as bad as he was at socializing.

She decided that she would try and be nice to him on this trip. It wouldn’t hurt.

When she got to the quarters, she immediately saw her staff leaning against the far bunk. It made her smile to see it. Even though she had been away from it for just a short while, she felt oddly incomplete when she wasn’t armed.

Her saber was on the bunk. It must have rolled over when the ship took off because it was close to the wall. Rey had to lean inside the bunk to reach it.

A noise at the entrance of the room caught her attention. She looked over and screamed.

Ben was standing there in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was wet, obviously from his bath in the ‘fresher. He looked just as shocked to see her as she was to see him.

“What?!” was the only thing Rey could think of to say as she watched a drop of water roll from the tip of his hair down his torso and get absorbed by the towel.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he said, blushing a bit at being caught in only a towel. “I thought you were in the cockpit.”

“I was,” Rey agreed. Another drop of water made its way down his body.

It wasn’t that Rey had never seen a naked man before, she had. They were at war and some things like privacy were thrown out the window. It was just that Ben Solo wasn’t as she had expected.

In hindsight, assuming that he was nothing but skin and bones wasn’t a realistic expectation, given the training that Jedi went through. Rey realised that black really was a slimming colour, since it had hidden all of Ben’s bulk.

“I should get dressed,” Ben awkwardly said.

“You should,” Rey agreed.

Yet neither of them moved. There was a charged air in the room, the two of them somehow knew that any movement would diffuse it. Rey didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Time seemed to have stood still. There was nothing except the two of them and the room they were in. In that moment, they weren’t enemies, they had no past. They were just two individuals. Neither of them wanted to break that.

“Rey?” Luke peeked his head into the quarters, effectively breaking the spell. “Are you al—Ben!”

“Hello Uncle,” Ben greeted, feeling a bit foolish since he was only in a towel.

“Is this why Rey screamed?” Luke asked, gesturing to Ben’s barely clad form.

“Yes,” they both replied.

Luke sighed. “Ben would you mind putting some clothes on?”

“Right,” Ben nodded, picking up the clothes on the bed and making his way to the ‘fresher.

When he was gone, Luke approached his apprentice.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“I am,” she nodded. “It was just a bit of a shock.”

“Really?” Luke raised an eyebrow.

“I thought he would be thinner,” she explained.

Luke laughed as she went through her explanation of why she thought Ben would be thin. Rey frowned as she saw her Master being amused with her.

Rey decided that the mission was not starting out so great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I could not resist a freshly showered Ben. I had to go through the Falcon floor plan just to figure out what goes where and if the Falcon had showers for this thing to work. I'm glad it does.
> 
> Also, if you've read the novelisation, you know that the way I spelled out the droids' names are like how they are in dialogue in the novels.
> 
> Comments? Suggestions? Violent reactions? Just leave them in the comments sections. If I haven't replied to your comments, I'm so sorry! I usually just reply to users bc they can get notifs that I replied! But please note that all comments are appreciated. You have no idea how seeing a comment makes me smile. Thanks so much for reading!


	8. Preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leia briefs them on what to expect. They get the unexpected.

The rest of their trip was otherwise uneventful, for which Rey was glad. She felt quite embarrassed that she stood there and stared at water droplets rolling down Ben’s body. She was sure that when she would tell Poe and Finn about it, they would laugh at her.

Thankfully, Ben didn’t return to the quarters and Rey didn’t see him again until they approached the planet Ryukk. General Organa had them gather in the Hold for a quick briefing about the planet and its inhabitants. R2D2 was there to provide visuals while C3PO was serving them food, which Rey declined because she wasn’t hungry yet.

Rey was sitting in the booth with Han and Luke. Chewie was left in the cockpit to pilot the Falcon. The General was standing across the game board. Ben, who was in grey Jedi robes, which Rey thought suited him, was leaning against the wall next to his father.

“Alright,” Leia said, nodding her head because they were all there. “This is Planet Ryukk. We’re headed for this small island nation of Balod.”

As Leia spoke, R2D2 projected an image of the planet, then zoomed into the island where they were headed. Rey paid attention, finding the planet interesting because it was much like Ahch-To, the planet she found Luke on, and had a vast ocean with a lot of small islands scattered throughout.

“Each island cluster has its own form of government and just a token ambassador they send off to the Republic every once in a while,” Leia continued. “The inhabitants are humanoid and prefer to keep to themselves, although off-planet trade isn’t forbidden. They basically live off the land and the sea. And they’re very superstitious.”

“How superstitious?” Han asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Maybe as superstitious as our Ewok friends,” Leia replied.

“Oh goody,” Han muttered. Rey sensed there was a history to that that only she didn’t know.

“In any case,” Leia said, ignoring Han’s comment. “We’ll bring along Threepio so he can act as interpreter.”

“I am happy to serve, General,” the droid said.

“Good,” Leia smiled at him. “We don’t really have anything else in our data banks about this place. That’s all we know.”

“That little?” Luke asked with his brow furrowed. “How are we going to save the child if we don’t know anything about them? For all we know, they think the kid is some sort of reincarnated deity that they have to sacrifice to a volcano.”

Rey turned to look at her mentor. Surely he was kidding? Then again, she was from Jakku and only recently just learned of other world cultures, not for lack of wanting to learn when she was younger, but because there weren’t that many books about other planets on Jakku.

“Oh I doubt they’d sacrifice the child to a volcano,” Leia said. “It’s far more likely that they’ll maroon him on a deserted island.”

“What?!” Rey asked, not being able to keep her shock in. “How could anyone do that to a child?”

“Fear is a very potent motivation,” Luke said, placing a hand on her shoulder to calm her. “People fear what they don’t understand. The Force and the Jedi have been absent far too long that we have become myths to them. Abilities, like the ones we have, are strange to them. It makes sense that they would be afraid.”

“Still,” Rey insisted. “To sacrifice a child, just because he’s different.”

“It happens,” Ben chimed in. “Far too often than you’d realise. A child is ostracised because he’s a bit odd. The galaxy is a harsh place to those who are different.”

Rey stared at him, realising that Ben was talking from experience. Looking around the room, Rey noticed guilty looks on everyone else’s faces. She wondered if it was possible that, despite being wonderful people, the General and Han weren’t the best of parents. She frowned.

“Oh my, Master Ben,” C3PO scolded. “You’ve upset Miss Rey.”

“No no,” Rey denied, shaking her head.  Ben didn’t react, his face as impassive as his mask was. “I’m fine.”

Before anyone else could say anything, a groan from Chewbacca was heard over the intercom. Han looked up and smiled.

“Well,” he said as he got up. “Time for me to head back to the cockpit. And time for you all to strap yourselves in. We’ll be out of hyperdrive soon.”

With that Han left the Main Hold. Leia also excused herself, dragging along the droids. Rey wondered why, but Luke cleared his throat to grab her attention.

“Rey, Ben,” the Jedi Master said. “We’re going in blind, I’m sorry that we couldn’t be more prepared, especially when you just recovered Ben.”

“I’m fine Uncle,” Ben said, a bit forcefully in Rey’s opinion. But she excused it. He was probably sick of people telling him to take it easy because he had just recovered.

“Still,” Luke insisted. “I don’t want you to strain yourself, none of us do. It’s only out of--”

“Concern,” Ben cut in, irritated. “I know Uncle. What’s the plan?”

Rey thought that Ben was being rude, especially since Luke was just expressing his worry. She would give anything for family that worried about her. To see him just brush it off disgusted her. She kept that off her face though. They were on a mission, she had to be nice.

“The plan is basically let your mother do the talking,” Luke told them. “Or Threepio if we need an interpreter. We have to let them know that we’re not hostile and we’re taking the child away for training.”

“What if they won’t let him go without a fight?” Rey asked.

“If Leia’s diplomacy won’t work,” Luke said, a smirk forming on his face. “Then we use Han’s.”

“Which is?” Rey asked.

“Talk our way into things,” Ben snorted. “Or if that fails, shoot something. And escape the planet with the Falcon under fire.”

“Does that happen often?” Rey wondered. “The Falcon taking off under fire, that is.”

“More often that you’d think,” Luke admitted. “But those were good times.”

Rey noted the smile on her Master’s face. Seeing his expression made her smile too. It wasn’t often that she saw him smile, but given what had happened to his students, she understood.

“You two should rest or eat something,” Luke advised. “Who knows how long we’ll be on Ryukk? It would be best if we went in prepared. I’ll be in the cockpit.”

Luke slid out of the booth and rolled his shoulders, loosening up the tense muscles. He gave Rey a pat on the shoulder as he passed her on the way out.

Rey sat there, deciding whether or not to talk to Ben. She knew that it was important that they went into the mission as solid a unit as they could be, but she also remembered their earlier incident and hoped that he wouldn’t bring it up.

“I’m going to the quarters,” Ben announced. “I need to meditate.”

“Okay,” Rey nodded.

She knew that he didn’t need to tell her where he was going and why, but she appreciated the fact that he did. He was trying to earn her trust, she could tell.

“I’ll be going,” he said, pushing off the wall he was leaning on.

“I’ll be right here,” Rey replied.

She watched him leave. He was trying, and he was trying hard. Maybe she should too.

***

Luke strapped himself into the seat behind Chewbacca. Leia was beside him, worrying her lip with her teeth.

“We’ll be fine,” he said as he leaned over and placed a hand on her arm.

“Yeah,” Han said from his seat. “Three Jedi, two droids, a General, a Smuggler, and a walking carpet arrive on some backwater planet. If that doesn’t sound like the beginning of a joke, I don’t know what does.”

“Hroooar!” Chewbacca exclaimed, clearly pretending to take offense at being called a walking carpet.

“Han, be serious,” Leia said, clearly worried. “This is a life we’re talking about. And it could cause a grave diplomatic incident if we make a mistake.”

“Speaking of mistakes,” Han replied. “Are you sure it’s alright for you to be here Leia? Won’t your ambassadors be mad that you took off?”

“A child is in danger,” she pointed out. “A powerful Force user. We don’t know if the Dark Side really is defeated. For all we know there are remnants hidden scattered across the galaxy. If we could sense the child half a galaxy away, they could too.”

“That’s _if_ they’re out there,” Han said. “Would the council agree?”

“They have no choice,” Leia replied, her tone every bit the Princess she once was. “I refuse to sit idly by and let the enemy swoop in and groom another child for war.”

“Leia…” Luke said, staring at his sister.

She was shaking with emotion. Her back was ramrod straight, and she was taking deep calming breaths. He knew that she partly blamed herself for the rise of the First Order. She was in a position of power and still she couldn’t stop it from happening.

They, the three of them, were in almost the exact same situation they were in when they overthrew the Empire. Leia was busy with Han and politics. Han was busy with Leia and getting used to staying in one place. And Luke was rebuilding the Jedi.

The only difference is that they now had the experience they lacked that first time. They knew what could happen and what they had to do to prevent it. Once again, Luke was thankful that Rey and Ben were with him to rebuild the Jedi.

“Exiting hyperdrive,” Han said, a bit unnecessarily, but Luke appreciated it for what it was: a way to break the tension that had risen in the room.

Luke stared out the windshield as the lights slowed and they were once again enveloped in the darkness of space. A blue planet was close-by, and he assumed that it was Ryukk.

Han eased the Falcon into the planet’s gravitational field. They swiftly flew into the planet, the clouds passing as they began their descent.

“Chewie,” Han said. “You need to stay with the Falcon.”

Chewie groaned in agreement.

“Planning on leaving the planet with things exploding again?” Leia asked.

“Being cautious,” Han said, as if that was the most obvious thing in the galaxy.

“Riiight,” Leia replied.

“Besides, you’re the one doing the negotiating,” Han reasoned out. “I doubt that they’d fire at us when they see that you’re in charge.”

“Better that I talk than let you do it,” Leia teased. “They’ll probably assume you’re here to swindle them out of something.”

Luke had to stifle a groan. Even after all these years, those two flirted that way. And they wondered why Ben was awkward, he didn’t exactly have the best role models when it came to social interaction.

“I’m going to go…” Luke raised a hand in the direction of the door, not even finishing his sentence.

Leia and Han didn’t seem to notice that he was leaving. Chewbacca gave him a small wave though.

Luke walked to the quarters, expecting to find Rey there. Instead he found his nephew on the floor, in deep meditation. Luke decided to join him, knowing the value of going into a mission with a clear mind.

He sat down across from Ben and closed his eyes. Luke concentrated on his breathing and lost himself in the Force.

***

Even before Ben opened his eyes, he knew two things. One, his Uncle was in the room with him. And two, the Falcon had landed.

Ben slowly opened his eyes, closing his mind to the Force as he did so. Luke was already on his feet and stretching. Ben had no idea how his Uncle could manage to make a short meditation relax him.

“We’re here?” Ben asked, rising from the floor.

“I supposed so,” Luke replied. “I can feel the child, can you?”

Ben closed his eyes again and concentrated on the Force. He felt it, but only just barely. He was better at sensing people he already knew, rather that strangers.

“A bit,” Ben nodded.

“We should go to the others,” Luke suggested.

They walked to the exit where Rey was standing with her staff already slung over her shoulder and her lightsaber holstered at her side. Ben fought down a blush, remembering their incident in the quarters.

Instead his hand unconsciously went to his own holster. Feeling the metal of his own saber calmed him.

“Master,” Rey acknowledged Luke with a nod. After a short pause, she did the same to Ben. “Ben.”

“Rey,” Ben replied.

“Now that we’re all here,” Leia said, gesturing to the nearby village. “We should go say hi.”

The three Jedi, Leia, Han, and C3PO started to make their way towards the village. Chewbacca and R2D2 were left behind on the Falcon. Just in case.

Ben looked at his mother. Over the years he had seen her in so many different outfits, one for a specific situation. Her current attire, long rubber boots and semi-water resistant clothing, told him that she knew exactly what the conditions on the planet were. There was a blaster by her hip and he knew that there was another one hidden in a boot.

Looking down at what he was wearing, he scowled. Jedi robes were not meant for muddy terrain.

The walk to the village was short, but the pathway was muddy. If Ben didn’t know better, he would call the village a rural backwater, rather than the capital that it was. The village was mainly houses built on stilts, rising above the water. The muddy flats and mangroves that grew around it meant that food wasn’t hard to come by. Ben figured that there was a center for commerce somewhere in the cluster of buildings.

As they approached the entrance to the village, two guards stopped them.

“Stop,” a guard said as she raised her hand. “State your name and your business.”

Ben sighed in relief. At least the inhabitants spoke their language. That would make negotiations much easier.

“I am General Leia Organa of the Republic,” Leia said. “These are my companions. We seek an audience with your leader.”

“We acknowledge no Republic here,” the other guard spat at them. “Begone! We have our own troubles that concern us. We need none of yours.”

“Peace Sigrid,” the first guard spoke. “They only wish to speak to the Elder.”

“Nothing good comes from outsiders Tilda,” Sigrid replied. “But I’ll allow this. They did come all this way after all.”

“Guests,” Tilda bowed to them respectfully. “Follow us.”

As they made their way through the town, Ben noticed a few things. Namely that the town was rich. The children playing in the streets seemed happy and well-dressed. He didn’t see any beggars. The town structure itself was stable and was far from the rickety thing he thought it would be.

They were led to a pavilion off to the side of the town. It wasn’t big, and if the guards had not led them there, Ben would never have guessed that the elder lived there. He’s seen a lot of politics who put their own wants over the needs of the people. The elder here did not seem to be of that type.

“Wait here,” Sigrid said as she entered the pavilion, leaving them with Tilda.

“What’s the Republic like?” she asked Leia with a hopeful smile on her face.

Leia was glad to explain the Republic to the girl. Ben smiled as he watched his mother. She really was a good politician. She knew what to say and when to say it. Too bad Ben never learned to do the same, at least, no to the extent that Leia did it.

A few minutes passed. The people who passed them gave them curious looks but nothing more. Children came and stared at the strangers in the strange clothes who were different from them. But they quickly grew bored and scampered off to continue playing.

Sigrid came back outside and shook her head.

“The Elder will see you now,” she announced. “I don’t know why though, but as soon as I said ‘Leia Organa’ she agreed.”

Luke and Han gave each other worried looks. Sometimes, having a reputation was not a good thing. Ben noticed that his father and Uncle discretely checked their weapons before they headed inside. He did the same.

Inside, they were guided to an audience chamber where an old woman was sitting with her chin resting on one hand. Ben could tell that she was scrutinizing them, and he stood a bit taller. He was not going to embarrass himself by slouching.

They gave the elder a respectful bow and waited for her to address them. She looked at them one by one, noting their weapons and smiling at the lightsabers.

“Leia Organa,” she said, her voice strong despite her age. “Last Princess of Alderaan. Along with Han Solo the Smuggler and Luke Skywalker the Jedi. Welcome to Balud.”

At their shocked faces, the old woman just smiled knowingly.

“I know of you,” she said. “How could I not? The Fall of the Empire had many consequences. Consequences that were felt even here. We wanted to know who to blame for all of it.”

“Blame?” Han said, clearly offended.

“Han,” Leia scolded, reminding him that it was neither the time nor the place.

“Blame yes,” the elder stroked her chin. “But it was a long time ago, and my memory of it has faded, and so has my anger. What brings you here?”

“Your Grace,” Leia said, fully in politician mode. “We come here seeking a child. We do not know who this child is, only that he or she has abilities that need to be trained.”

“There is no single child who fits that description,” the elder replied.

“With all due respect Your Grace,” Luke said. “I can feel the child, and he is very strong in the Force.”

“Perhaps,” the old woman nodded. “However, you are mistaken.”

When Luke opened his mouth to argue, she just raised a hand to stop him.

“There is no child,” the elder said with a hint of mischief in her eye. “There are two.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg. I can't believe I updated! Happy Birthday to me! lol
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! ^.^


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben gets advice. Rey shocks herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor character death warning. This chapter is a bit dark.

Ben’s eyes widened as he heard the news. _Two children_. He didn’t understand how his uncle could have missed that. They had gone on missions before where there were also more than one child for them to save, but Luke had always known how many children there were.

“Two children?” Leia asked. “But…”

“No Leia,” Luke shook his head. “Two children, twins. I see them now.”

Ben closed his eyes and tried to focus on the children. His senses picked up the strong presences of his mother, a warm soothing aura, and uncle, much like the light from a blue sun, soft but hotter than it looks. He also felt Rey’s presence, a blazing brightness that was reminiscent of a supernova. He felt the others in the room as well, none save the Elder were as striking.

He stretched his mind farther, seeking out the bright point in the mundane entities in the Force. He felt them. It was hard to discern one from the other, but he could sense their fear.

“Why are they so afraid?” he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

The elder’s gaze fell on him. He could feel her assessing him, scrutinizing everything from his appearance to his posture. Ben didn’t like it, but he would not be cowed either. He just stood straighter and stared right back at her.

“Kylo Ren,” the woman chuckled. Ben caught himself before he could flinch, he would not show weakness. “You are so interested in their fear. Perhaps you seek to bring them to the Dark Side.”

“There is no Kylo Ren,” he replied, keeping his voice even and polite. “It was all a ruse to insert an agent of the Light in the ranks of the First Order.”

“ _Insert an agent of the Light_?” the elder cackled. “An agent of the Light would never allow the slaughter of thousands. And yet…”

The elder paused, her eyes narrowing as she reassessed Ben. He could feel her through the Force, but he didn’t let it show on his face.

Even when he was in a mask, Ben never let his emotions show on his face. His ‘tantrums’ as the First Order members called them, were mostly an act to ensure that they saw him as volatile, dangerous. Only a few instances did he allow his real emotions to show. In most of those moments, Rey was involved.

“Yet you are not fully of the Dark Side,” she finished. Her gaze quickly fell on Rey and she smirked. “Curious.”

Ben saw his mother and uncle exchange puzzled looks. Rey was obviously uncomfortable with the Elder’s gaze, but she was not one to be easily cowed either. Han’s hand was uncomfortable close to his blaster, ready to shoot and get them all out of there.

Leia was about to say something to try and diffuse the situation when the Elder spoke.

“I’ve delayed you long enough,” she said, waving her hand in dismissal. “Sigrid will lead you to the children. You will know why they are afraid when you meet them.”

“Thank you Your Grace,” Leia replied, sketching a bow and indicating that the others should follow.

“Follow me,” Sigrid said, leading the way.

They all filed out, relieved that they hadn’t cause a major diplomatic incident. Ben was the last to leave and just when he was about to exit, the Elder called him back.

“Ben Solo,” she called out. “A word of caution.”

Ben stopped and turned around to face her. He expected that she would once again comment on his actions in the war, he was used to people doing that. But she surprised him.

“You are walking a very fine line,” she said, folding her hands in front of her chin in thought. “As much as you would like to belong to either side, you are neither completely one nor the other.”

Ben opened his mouth to argue, to insist that he had forsaken the teachings of the Dark Side. The Elder shook her head.

“It is not a bad thing,” she reassured him. “The Grey path would give you much and would complete you in a way that the Dark and the Light would not. And you do not walk it alone.”

“What do you mean?” Ben asked.

The Elder just smiled cryptically at him.

“You will know when the time comes,” she told him. “You should catch up to your companions.”

Ben knew a dismissal when he heard one. He gave the Elder one last bow and exited the room. He could see that they had waited for him down the corridor and he walked quickly to catch up.

“What did she want?” Han asked, looking his son up and down to check for any damage.

“She just gave me some advice,” Ben shrugged.

“You should heed her,” Sigrid said. “The Elder is wise, she knows of what she speaks.”

Before he could reply to tell her that he didn’t need advice from a stranger, Sigrid turned on her heel and led the way to the children.

Rey shot him a curious glance, and he cocked an eyebrow at her. He did not need any more confrontations.

“Are you alright?” she asked him.

“Fine,” he replied.

He didn’t really wish to talk about it, especially not to her. Although he did wonder at who walked the Grey path with him as the Elder implied.

“If you say so,” she said, walking off to follow the rest of their group.

He stared at her back, letting her get a few paces ahead of him before he started walking. Surely, it was not Rey whom the Elder meant? Her presence in the Force told him that she was purely Light. He shook his head. There was time for pondering later, right now the children had to come first.

***

“Where’s Ben?” Han asked, stopping the group from moving forward.

“The Elder must have called him back,” Sigrid replied with a shrug. “We can go on, he can catch up.”

“We’re not going anywhere without him,” Han insisted, causing Sigrid to just shrug again.

While Rey agreed with Han, she didn’t say anything. Their meeting with the Elder was a new experience for her. Master Luke brought her to some of the Council meetings with General Organa, but those were different. Everyone there was on some sort of equal footing. Their audience with the Elder was clearly nothing like that.

She wondered if all of their recruiting missions from then on would be like this. Statistically, she knew that there would be some missions that involved jumping into hyperdrive as soon as they could just so they could escape, but she hoped that most missions would go as smoothly as this one was going.

“Don’t jinx it,” Luke said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Master?” she asked, wondering what he meant.

“You’re probably thinking that this is going well,” Luke explained. “Don’t jinx it Rey. Sometimes missions are going so well until they don’t.”

“Of course Sir,” Rey replied.

She remembered thinking that too on Takodana when she thought her part in getting BB-8 to the Resistance was over. She gave herself a little snort. How little she knew back then! That part had only been the beginning.

They stood silently in the corridor, waiting for Ben to emerge from the Elder’s Audience Chamber. Rey could see that Han and Leia were both uneasy. Han had checked his blaster more than once, fully prepared to run into the room and save his son. Leia was the picture of calm, but Rey could see in her eyes that she also wanted to go in blasters blazing if it meant that Ben would be safe, diplomacy be damned.

Luke was just standing there. Rey knew that he was keeping watch through the Force. She wondered if she should do the same when Ben exited the room.

Rey could feel the relief coming off all of them. The Elder may have been kind to them, but her attack on Ben, while warranted, had raised all of their defences.

She listened as Han checked his son and Sigrid reassured them of the Elder’s goodness. Rey observed Ben, noting that he seemed uneasy. Whatever the Elder had said, it shook him.

“Are you alright?” she asked, concern filling her voice.

“Fine,” he replied. A bit tersely in her opinion. She was just trying to be kind.

“If you say so,” she said, following the rest of the group. Perhaps he needed space.

Sigrid led them to a building near the outskirts of the town. It was bigger than most of the other buildings in town. She stopped walking.

“This is the town’s hospital,” she said. “We’ve had an outbreak of a disease recently. Nothing to be alarmed about, I’m certain that you’ve all been properly inoculated.”

They all looked at Rey, who shrugged. She had no idea what her medical records were. She couldn’t recall a time when Plutt let a medical droid check her. But maybe before she was left there she had been vaccinated. She didn’t really know.

“Miss Rey is immune to the common diseases,” C3PO announced. “Her blood titers had showed enough antibodies.”

Rey stared at the droid, wondering where he would know that information. Then she remembered her general check-up back before she found Master Luke. She had no idea that they were doing tests on her blood. But she was relieved that they did.

“Then let us proceed,” Sigrid said, opening the hospital’s doors.

Rey looked around as they walked through the building. She had never been inside a hospital before, only medical infirmaries in battle sites. It wasn’t much different. Except that the structure was solid, bigger, and had private rooms.

Sigrid led them to one such room.

“I should warn you,” she said as she paused before opening the door. “Kira is very protective of Elle. They both got sick, but Elle had it worse. They are all each other has.”

They all nodded to show that they understood. Han shifted uneasily on his feet.

“We’ll wait out here,” Han said, gesturing to himself and C3PO.

They said nothing as he stepped to the side, away from the doorway. Sigrid knocked on the door. A soft reply told them that they could enter.

“Kira?” Sigrid said as she stepped into the room. “You have visitors.”

“I know,” a female voice replied. “I felt them.”

As their group entered the room, Rey noticed that it was sterile. There were no pictures, no toys, just a stark white room with several medical apparatuses and two beds.

On one bed a little boy, maybe five years old, was lying down. He was unconscious and pale. His breathing was rapid. His dark hair plastered onto his forehead drenched in sweat.

On the other bed a girl was sitting up. She was older, seven or eight, Rey couldn’t tell. Her light brown hair was in a loose braid over her shoulder. Her grey eyes narrowed as she scrutinized them. One by one she stared at them, her eyes finally stopping on Luke.

“Have you come to take us away?” she asked. “Elliot isn’t well enough to go yet.”

Luke stared at Leia, urging her to handle the situation. Rey found it amusing that her Master would look to the General to help with children.

“We’re here to take you both,” Leia said softly. “Elliot can receive medical care when we reach D’Qar.”

“He won’t reach D’Qar,” Kira said calmly. “Not in his condition.”

“What do you mean?” Rey asked.

“Do you not see it?” Kira replied, giving Rey her full attention. “Can you not feel the anomaly?”

Rey furrowed her brow. Yes, she could feel that something was odd, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Beside her, Master Luke gave a sharp intake of breath.

“You’re the only reason he still lives,” Luke said.

“Yes,” Kira nodded. “I don’t know how I did it, but I wished that he would live, and here he is, still clinging to life.”

“Master?” Rey asked, not quite following. “What does she mean?”

“Kira is supplying his life using her own,” Luke explained. “It’s why we thought that there was only one child. It’s also very dangerous.”

“He is my brother,” Kira justified. “He is all I have. It’s my job to protect him.”

“By denying him the peace of death?” Sigrid asked, appalled that one of her own people would to something that extreme.

“Wouldn’t you do the same for Tilda if it came to it?” Kira countered.

“Our teachings--” Sigrid began, but Kira cut her off.

“Are stupid!” Kira exclaimed. “If we are supposed to just let death happen, then why is the biggest building in the town the hospital? Why do we even try if we should just surrender ourselves to death?”

“Kira…” Sigrid said, at a loss for words.

Rey wondered how a child as young as Kira was got to become so jaded. Then she recalled that Elle was the only one left of Kira’s family. She knew how hard it was to be alone, how lonely she was back on Jakku.

“You understand,” Kira said, giving Rey her full attention. “You understand what it is I’m afraid of.”

“Yes,” Rey replied with a nod.

“You won’t let them take me away would you?” Kira asked, her voice pleading.

Rey couldn’t see the wisdom in taking the children. Separating them would mean the death of one or both of them. She would fight anyone who would dare.

“Rey,” Ben said, softly touching her elbow. “Don’t listen to her.”

Rey shook her head, her mind feeling a bit cloudy. Anger boiled in her stomach. How dare a child presume to control her through the Force! How disappointing it was that she had almost succeeded.

“Pity,” Kira said coldly, her eyes flashing yellow. “You could have protected us.”

Before anyone could do anything, they were all flung back away from the children. Rey hit the ground hard, but she quickly got back up. She did not have it in her to hit a child, so instead she engaged Kira in a mental battle.

_You won’t win!_ Kira taunted, her mind feeling oily to Rey. _I will keep Elliot safe. Nobody could stop me._

They had a brief battle of wills. Rey could tell that Master Luke was trying to help her, but there was no one else in the battle but her and Kira. The child was strong, Rey admitted, but she was stronger. It helped that Rey had training while Kira did not.

Just as Rey was about to subdue the girl, Kira’s mind gave one last forceful push, strong enough to send Rey flying backwards into a wall.

Then nothing.

Back on the bed, Kira’s form was upright, but her eyes, stuck in the yellow color of the Sith, were glazed over.

Rey stood in shock. She had done that. Guilt brought her to her knees.

“Rey,” Leia said, her hands on Rey’s shoulders. “It’s not your fault.”

But Rey could feel that it was. Flinging her senses out into the Force, Rey could feel the two bright lights that were the children had begun to fade. They were becoming a part of the Force once more.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took me a while to update. Real life has been... busy for lack of a better term. I'm sorry this chapter was a bit dark, but we can't have rainbows all the time, right?


	10. After Ryukk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke tries to comfort Rey. Ben realizes his mother is quite the politician. Rey is depressed.

Luke handed Rey a cup of tea, making sure that she was holding the cup in both hands before he let go. She had not reacted well to what had happened in the hospital. None of them did, but it affected her the most.

She blamed herself for what happened.

Sigrid had been kind to them, escorting them to the Falcon without commenting on Elliot’s death. Kira was still alive, but Luke knew that the child wasn’t really there. Her essence had returned to the Force, all that was left was an empty shell.

The group had to pass by the Elder’s Pavilion in order to exit the town. Luke had locked eyes with her and he knew she had felt it.

The power from the Dark Side that Kira had used just before she destroyed herself.

Luke shuddered as he remembered how it felt. It was odd to have felt it from such a young child. The last time he felt that great an influence of the Dark Side, it had emanated from the Supreme Leader. He had also felt it in his nephew, but to a lesser degree.

He wondered if the recent surge that Kira had released would remind Ben of how seductive the Dark Side was. Luke also wondered if he needed to watch his nephew for signs of falling to the Dark Side, and for real this time.

Luke shifted in his seat in the booth of the Falcon’s Main Hold. Han and Chewie were already prepping them for take-off. Leia had gone in search of a blanket to wrap Rey in. Ben was leaning against the opposite wall, just looking at Rey.

The young woman had withdrawn from them. Luke could feel through the Force the turmoil that was going through her. The despair brought about by failure was colouring her Force Signature.

Ben shot him a worried look, which Luke returned. The war and Snoke had not been enough to swat Rey to the Dark Side. But the death of a child? A death that she seemingly caused? Luke shook his head.

Maybe he needed to look out for signs of both Rey and Ben going over to the Dark Side. Either way, Luke had his work cut out for him, on top of rebuilding the school at that.

“I’ll be…” Ben said, pushing off against the wall. “Elsewhere.”

He walked out of the Main Hold. Luke understood why he wanted to leave. Rey’s aura was toxic. She was trying to release it all into the Force, he could feel it, but she wasn’t improving. She was probably generating more negative energy from within.

“Rey,” he said, trying to get her attention.

She didn’t respond. Her eyes weren’t even focused. Luke feared that she lost herself in her thoughts.

“Rey,” he tried again, shaking her shoulder.

Rey turned her head towards him, her face still devoid of emotion.

“Master?” she asked, her voice sounding as if in a trance.

“It wasn’t your fault Rey,” Luke said worriedly. “Kira had no control.”

“Of course Master,” Rey replied. Luke could tell that she wasn’t really listening.

“Kira had too much power,” Luke tried to explain. “And too much attachment to her brother. She could not bear the thought of losing him, hence she was seduced by the Dark Side. It wasn’t your fault Rey.”

Rey’s eyes remained glazed over. Luke knew that she had heard him, but she was ignoring his words. He let out a frustrated breath.

“At least drink your tea?” Luke suggested.

He watched as Rey put the cup to her lips, but didn’t drink. He had felt hopeless before, like when he was clinging on for dear life after Vader had cut off his arm. He hadn’t known what to do then and he didn’t know what to do now.

If it were anyone else, Luke would try to peek into that person’s mind and try to snap them out of it from within. But Rey was a powerful Force-user, especially when it came to the mental aspects of the Force. If Luke went in there, it was more likely that he would be pulled into the mess rather than be able to pull her out.

Luke felt the Falcon take off. He watched as Rey tea spilled over from the side. As someone who came from a desert planet, Luke knew that if Rey was fine, she wouldn’t let even a single drop go to waste. He shook his head.

Leia walked into the Main Hold carrying a blanket. She took in Luke’s defeated appearance and sighed.

“No improvement?” she asked, walking over and draping the blanket across Rey’s shoulders.

“None,” Luke answered.

“Rey?” Leia asked, rubbing the younger woman’s back.

She elicited no response. Leia wasn’t one to give up that quickly though.

“Rey?” Leia asked again.

This time Luke felt that she was speaking both through her mouth and the Force. While Leia had not been trained in the way of the Jedi, she had her abilities for as long as Luke had. It didn’t surprise him that she could use it as she did. He knew that she used it during council meetings at times. For the greater good of course.

“General?” Rey asked, her voice groggy as if she had just awoken. In a sense she just did.

“Oh good,” Leia sighed in relief. “It worked.”

“Ma’am?” Rey blinked in confusion. “What worked?”

“Nothing for you to worry about,” Leia brushed it off. “How are you feeling?”

Rey paused before she answered. Luke was afraid that if she paused long enough, she would go back into herself. But she didn’t.

“It’s strange,” Rey said slowly. “Her mind, Kira’s, I felt it and it felt wrong.”

The twins refrained from saying anything, knowing how cathartic it would be for her to talk about it. Luke and Leia did exchanged concerned looks, not that Rey noticed.

“It was… greasy,” Rey continued. “Like oil left outside for too long. Kira’s mind was so full of darkness and despair. It… wasn’t a nice experience.”

Rey shivered at the memory of that place. As proficient as Rey was with the Force, Luke sometimes forgot that she was still quite new to it.

“I think,” Rey said gradually. “I’m better now.”

Luke nodded as he gave her a pat on the shoulder. Rey shot him a wobbly smile before she took a sip of her tea. Leia smiled at them both.

“I’ll be in the cockpit,” Leia announced before she left.

They watched her leave. For a moment the two sat there in companionable silence, the only noise was when Rey sipped at her tea.

Luke’s stomach lurched as he felt the Falcon go into hyperdrive. He smiled. The sooner they got away from Ryukk the better it was for Rey.

“Master Luke?” Rey asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes?” he replied.

“Are all minds clouded in the Dark Side like that?” she fiddled with her cup.

Luke regarded her, thinking on how he should explain things. His own Masters had been quite vague about some things regarding the Force. Then again, he only had Masters for a short time and that was during the war. Force Ghosts weren’t quite as good as teaching the ways of the Force as a living, breathing being.

“It’s different from person to person,” Luke said, deciding on an explanation. “You know how each person’s Force Signature feels differently, right?”

Rey nodded.

“What we feel is the Light Side of the Force,” Luke explained. “The Force flows through each of us, and since we’re all different, the way it flows and manifests in us is different as well.”

“And the Dark Side?” Rey prodded.

“Light or Dark,” he replied. “They are still one in the Force.”

“I see,” Rey nodded her head. “Thank you for the explanation Master. Excuse me, I think I need to go lie down.”

Luke watched as she left the Main Hold, his brow furrowed in concern. He would have taken on Kira instead of her, if he could have. But the child had had been drawn to the one in the room who was strongest in the mental aspects of the Force.

He sighed. He felt like he wasn’t turning out to be a very good Master.

***

Ben entered the cockpit and strapped himself to the chair behind Chewie. He knew better than to talk to either of the pilots while they were about to take off, so he stayed silent.

He watched as his father flipped the switches on the Falcon’s dash, comforted by how familiar a scene it was to him. He could remember times when he would sit in his father’s lap as a child and pretend to steer the ship. His mother didn’t think that it was safe, but she let it happen anyway. Those were good memories.

As soon as the Falcon was in space, Han turned his head and gave Ben a half smile.

“You okay Ben?” he asked. “That was quite an experience.”

“I’m fine,” Ben replied. “The initial shock had worn off. There doesn’t seem to be any lasting damage.”

Chewie let off a moan, telling Ben that he was glad Ben was alright.

“Thank you Chewie,” Ben said.

While Luke was Ben’s uncle by blood, Chewie was the one who was around when Ben was young. While they still haven’t reconciled after Han’s faked death, the Wookiee was now much more civil than he had been.

“How’s Rey?” Han asked, turning his attention back to steering.

“Not good,” Ben replied, shaking his head even though he knew his father couldn’t see him. “At least not when I left the room.”

“That bad huh?” Han let out a breath. “Thirty years and all this Force mumbo jumbo can still surprise me.”

“You can study the Force your whole life and still not be able to understand but a fraction of it,” Ben pointed out.

“Yeah, yeah,” Han waved his hand in dismissal, clearly he had heard that explanation before. “Can we do anything to help her?”

“Not as such,” Ben replied. “Going into her mind could mean certain death to anyone. Oh!”

Ben sat up as he felt the Force shift. He turned his head in the direction of the Main Hold. Something had happened to get Rey out from her thoughts.

“Oh?” Han repeated. “What ‘oh’?”

“Rey snapped out of it,” Ben informed him. “Uncle or Mother must have done something.”

“I thought you said going in would mean certain death?” Han asked, alarmed at the thought that Luke or Leia would do something so risky.

“It would have,” Ben agreed. “Maybe they found another way.”

Han grumbled to himself. Ben caught words like ‘stubborn’ and ‘risk-taker’. He snorted. His Father was one to talk. Han Solo was one of the most daring people in the galaxy, and that wasn’t always a good thing.

“Hold on,” Han warned, putting the Falcon into hyperdrive.

Ben braced himself. He hated the initial pull of hyperdrive. It always made him feel like he had left something important and only remembered it when he was already somewhere else.

As the Falcon settled into hyperdrive, Leia walked into the cockpit.

“Could’ve used some warning,” she said as she took the seat behind Han. “I was in the hallway when you started the jump.”

“Sorry,” Han apologised. “I thought you’d be in the Hold with Luke and Rey.”

“I was,” Leia replied. “But after I got Rey out of her head, I came here.”

“You were the one who did that?” Ben asked, whipping his head towards his mother so fast that it was a miracle that he didn’t get whiplash. “Mother that was dangerous!”

“I know,” Leia shrugged.

Han stayed quiet, which was uncharacteristic of him. Ben speculated that his parents had probably had a fight recently and his father was just picking which arguments to make. Ben scowled.

“Mother,” Ben said, his voice filled with worry. “You could have been trapped in there!”

“It was my risk to take,” Leia said, brushing off his argument. “I knew neither you nor Luke would do it, so I did. I couldn’t leave Rey like that.”

“You could’ve ended up like that!” Ben argued. “You should have at least told me or Uncle what you were going to do.”

“But I didn’t,” Leia pointed out, taking a page from Han. “I wasn’t about to tell you that I was going to do something that neither of you approved of.”

“I,” Ben stammered, at a loss for words. “Father!”

“Don’t look at me son,” Han replied. “She did it, nothing bad happened, end of story.”

Ben stared incredulously at his parents, wondering how in the Force _he_ ever made it out of childhood alive with those two as his parents. A glance at the seat in front of him reminded him how. Thank the Force for Chewbacca’s presence in his life.

“So how’s Rey?” Han asked.

“Conscious, coherent,” Leia said. “She’s still a bit shaken from what happened.”

Han hummed in response. The conversation changed topic soon after. Ben had learned from an early age how to filter out what wasn’t important. The rest of the flight back to D’Qar was uneventful, for which they were all thankful for.

When they landed on D’Qar, quite a few people were there to greet them. Ben knew that they were all curious as to why the three Jedi had suddenly left the planet. He wondered what the gossip about their departure was saying.

“General,” Admiral Statura greeted as soon as Leia stepped off the Falcon. “How did the mission go?”

Leia paused and regarded the small crowd that had gathered. Ben saw her adopt what he called her ‘politician’ face or as his father called it, her ‘Princess’ face.

“I know all of you are probably wondering why the Jedi departed D’Qar in a hurry,” she paused, letting the crowd murmur their agreement. “We left to address a disturbance in the Force. Jedi Master Luke felt the disturbance and alerted me of the immediacy of the situation.”

Ben watched as the crowd digested the information. His mother was a compelling speaker, even without using the Force. More people arrived to listen.

“When we reached our destination,” Leia continued. “We were faced with a being strong in the Dark Side of the Force. The Jedi neutralised the threat. We are indebted to them once more.”

Ben watched his mother as the crowd cheered. She really was quite the politician. She knew just how to phrase things in such a way that made their failure seem like a success. He subtly shook his head.

He made his way to his room, pausing to accept shy congratulations from members of the Resistance. Ben wondered why they were trying to be nice. It might have been because he had just returned from ‘subduing a being of the Dark Side’. Or maybe Poe had said a few good words about him here and there.

Or, Ben looked down and frowned, it might be because he wasn’t wearing his customary black clothes. His mother always said that clothes make the man. The members of the Resistance might believe in that same philosophy.

Ben smiled when he entered and found the basket of goodies that Admiral Ackbar kept sending him. The man had let Ben ride on his shoulders as a child, and he also snuck Ben treats whenever Leia or Han forbade them. Ben was glad that the Admiral had been quick to forgive him for his role as a spy.

The rest of his night was uneventful, especially since he chose to take dinner in solitude. His sleep was a bit troubled. The little girl and her yellow eyes haunted him.

Ben was startled awake at an early hour and he chose not to try to find sleep again. He spent the rest of the time before dawn meditating.

His morning was also uneventful. His kata practice had no unexpected pilots dropping by to drag him to lunch. He stopped by his room and freshened up before he made his way to the Mess for lunch.

In the Mess he spotted Poe and Finn. Rether, they spotted him and Poe stood and waved him over to their table to sit with them. Ben shot them an awkward look.

They were seated near the middle of the room, not like the last time he ate with them. That made him a little bit uneasy. Rey was also conspicuously missing from the table. Ben set his tray down and sat across the two.

“Hey Ben,” Poe said, elbowing Finn in the side to get the other man to greet Ben.

“Yeah, hey,” Finn mumbled.

“Hello,” Ben replied. “Where’s Rey?”

The two exchanged worried looks, alarming Ben. He knew that the three were close. He wondered if she was coping well with what happened on Ryukk.

“She’s in her room,” Poe said. “She wasn’t hungry.”

“She wasn’t?” Ben scrunched his forehead.

“Did something happen?” Finn asked, surprising Ben because he thought the former-trooper wouldn’t willingly talk to him. “On your mission?”

Ben hesitated. He wasn’t sure how much they knew about the Force and he didn’t want to talk about it in the Mess of all places. He didn’t want people overhearing anything that could lead to panic or distrust of the Jedi.

“You don’t have to tell us,” Poe said. “The look on your face tells me that it wasn’t as easy as the General said it was.”

“It wasn’t,” Ben agreed.

“Something happened to Rey?” Finn prodded. He didn’t need to know the details, he just wanted to know if Rey was alright.

“You could say that,” Ben nodded. “She was the one who had to deal with it.”

“It fell to her again, huh?” Finn shook his head in disbelief. “Why does it always have to be her?”

Ben didn’t reply. He had no explanation why things happened to Rey. Finn didn’t seem to want a reply either.

They continued eating in silence. Ben was worried that it would be awkward, but it wasn’t. They were bound by their common worry for Rey. Still, Ben didn’t want to overstay his welcome, so he left as soon as he was done. He might have eaten at a faster speed than he usually would just to leave the table all that sooner.

As he walked back to his room his thoughts strayed to Rey once more. His mother and uncle might have talked to her, but he knew that there were some things that couldn’t be helped by talking. He stopped by his room to grab his practice sword.

Maybe a spar would clear her mind where meditation wouldn’t.

***

As soon as the Falcon landed, Rey dreaded leaving the Quarters and having to face her friends. Poe and Finn would immediately know that something was wrong with her. Normally, Rey would have meditated and released her worries into the Force, but she was much too afraid to do that at the moment.

She had almost been trapped in her own mind. If it wasn’t for General Organa, she would still be there. She didn’t want to risk it.

Rey took a steeling breath and made her way to the exit ramp. She got there just in time to hear the General’s speech about how they had stopped the threat. She felt like she was going to sick up.

The crowd cheered. They were impressed by the news that the Jedi had once again prevailed over the Dark Side. Rey wondered how impressed they would be if they knew that the threat had been a little girl who was grieving for her brother.

She walked through the crowd and saw that they gave her admiring looks. Rey couldn’t help but think on how quickly their admiration would turn to disgust if they ever found out that she had caused the death of children.

“Rey!” A voice called out.

She stopped and turned on her heel. Finn and Poe were headed towards her with big smiles on their faces. She gave them what could only be called a grimace in return.

“You okay?” Finn asked as soon as he reached her.

“I’m fine,” Rey said.

She really was. Or she would be. She didn’t really want to talk about it, not to them. They wouldn’t be able to understand.

“Really?” Poe asked, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t look alright.”

“I’m fine,” Rey reiterated, putting an edge to her voice. “I’m just tired.”

“That’s understandable,” Finn said. “You should rest.”

“Thanks,” Rey said, giving them a grateful look.

She walked away without another word. Or she would have if they hadn’t fallen into step beside her.

“I need to be alone,” she told them. “Please.”

She saw the couple shoot each other concerned looks. She was fully prepared to defend herself from any argument they would make, but they just nodded.

“We’ll see you at dinner then,” Poe said, giving her a pat on the back before he headed back to the hangar.

“Rest well, yeah?” Finn said, giving her a short hug before he followed after Poe.

Rey headed towards her room. People kept stopping her to congratulate her for a successful mission. She just gave them awkward thanks and carried on her way, citing fatigue and the need to rest.

When she got to her room, she flopped down on her bed. She hadn’t even realised how exhausted she truly was, mentally and physically. She promised herself that she would just take a short nap as she fell into a deep sleep.

Her dreams were troublesome. They were more of nightmares really, but not ones she could escape from. She woke up the next day with no memory of her nightmares and feeling not the least bit rested.

Rey scowled as she consulted the clock. It was almost past noon. She had slept the night all through the whole morning. Giving off a frustrated growl, she made her way to the ‘fresher to get some of the grime off of her.

When she was done, she felt a little bit more human, but she still felt tired. Her stomach growled in hunger, but she didn’t feel like going to the Mess or facing other people. The scavenger in her had secreted away some rations, and she ate one of those instead.

Rey was planning to spend her afternoon in solitude, when a knock sounded on her door. She figured it was either Finn or Poe.

“Come in,” she called out.

She was surprised when the door slid open to reveal Ben who was carrying a practice sword. Rey just raised an eyebrow.

“May I help you?” she asked, not quite sure why the man was there.

“Grab your practice sword,” Ben told her.

“No thank you,” she politely declined. “I don’t have the slightest inclination to leave my room at this moment.”

“That’s how it starts,” Ben said, making Rey wonder what he was talking about. “First you don’t want to leave your room for a day, then before you know it, it would have been a week. The Dark Side is not the only dangerous place one can fall to.”

“What?” Rey asked, not following the turn that the conversation had taken.

“Never mind,” Ben quickly said. “My point is that we’re going to go spar.”

“No,” Rey declined. “What good would that do?”

“Trust me,” Ben gave her a charming smile. “I’ll even let you hit me a couple of times.”

Rey’s eyes narrowed at his insinuation that he could best her in a spar. The last time they had fought, she had clearly been the victor.

“Let me hit you?” she asked, her annoyance rising. “If I recall I defeated you the last time.”

“I was undercover,” he shrugged. “Defeating you wouldn’t have helped my mission, not when we were so close to bringing Snoke down.”

“Are you saying you took it easy on me?” Rey asked incredulously.

“Maybe,” Ben shrugged. “Or maybe you could convince me that you really did defeat me?”

He nodded to her practice sword which was leaning against the wall. Rey’s eyes narrowed. She knew he was trying to rile her up on purpose. And damn him, it was working.

“Fine,” she said, grabbing the sword before she stormed past him to exit her room.

She heard him chuckle, but she did not give him the satisfaction of a response. He’ll get what’s coming to him when they start sparring. Rey found that she had a lot of energy all of a sudden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took me a while. But here have a long-ish chapter as my apology. ^.^  
> I'm currently deciding on whether or not I should do the Reylo Big Bang, I want to, but it would affect the progression of this fic. So if I do decide to join it, I'll just tell you all in a future update yes?  
> Tell me how you found this chapter?


	11. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey spar. Luke is stuck in trade meetings. Rey hears a voice.

Ben smiled to himself as he followed Rey to the same courtyard he practiced in. He knew that she also utilised the place for practising her katas. He stopped a few feet away from her and bowed, indicating that he was ready.

She returned the bow. Ben raised his guard, and not a moment too soon because Rey lunged at him. He parried her swing. He knew how she fought. He would not be caught in a sword lock again.

Rey was fast, recovering from his parry and swinging her practice blade towards him again. He could tell that she was still quite angry from his earlier insinuation that he only let her win their last duel. Her moves were sloppy and weak, nothing like their life or death duel at all.

He side-stepped and batted her blade aside, shaking his head as he did so.

“Is that the best you can do?” he taunted.

“Not quite,” she replied, using the Force to push him.

It was only years of practice that kept him from stumbling to his knees. He would have called her out on her dirty tactic, but he decided against it.

Every bit of energy she expelled in this fight was a bit less she would turn on herself when she returned to her room.

Rey was still on the offensive, swinging her blade using both hands. Ben defended himself, letting her vent her anger.

His uncle had taught him to release his emotions into the Force. As he grew older, he found out that releasing it into the Force while beating up a practice dummy felt much better than meditation. He had caused much harm to Rey over the course of the war, being her practice dummy now was just a drop in the bucket compared to what he owed her in apology.

Still, he wasn’t about to stand still and let her beat on him. He wasn’t that self-destructive.

“Fight me!” she said, disappointed that he was only defending. “This isn’t a spar!”

“As you wish,” Ben replied, twisting his practice blade in a move that caught her on the leg.

Rey startled, not from pain, but from surprise that she hadn’t blocked the blow. He could see that she realised that anger was making her slow. She took deep breaths.

“That won’t happen again,” she swore.

They circled each other, neither one attacking. Ben feinted, intentionally giving her an opening. Rey stepped back, unsure as to why he would do that.

Ben made another move, gave Rey another opening. This one she took, landing a blow on his shoulder. Rey’s brow furrowed.

They danced around each other again. When one lunged, the other evaded. Rey had several weak spots that Ben noticed, but he didn’t take advantage of them. This spar was for her.

He purposefully gave her another opening. She saw it and raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you doing that?” she asked, lowering her blade.

“Doing what?” Ben asked innocently.

“That,” she pointed out. “Leaving yourself vulnerable on purpose.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Ben replied, lunging rather recklessly at her.

She easily evaded and gave him a light tap on the back with her training blade. Ben twisted and righted himself, lifting his blade in an attack position.

Rey narrowed her eyes at him, looking him up and down as if that would help her figure out what he was doing. She knew how he fought. Whatever he was currently doing, it wasn’t fighting.

“Why won’t you fight me?” Rey asked crossly. “You drag me from my room to spar and you do nothing but block and get hit. Why?”

“You’re angry,” Ben smiled in approval, stepping forward with a quick downward swing of his blade. “That’s good.”

Rey blocked, but only because of her fast reflexes. He had just been playing with her earlier, now he was serious.

Ben swung his blade to the right. Rey caught it with her sword and stepped back.

“But anger,” he said as he continued his attack. “Makes you weak.”

To emphasise that, Ben knocked the blade out of Rey’s hand.

“Anger,” he said as he walked towards her, causing her to back away. “Makes you sloppy.”

Ben swept his practice blade at Rey’s legs, making her fall to the ground.

“Anger is better than where you were earlier,” he said as he pointed the practice blade at her neck. “But it won’t take you very far.”

He lifted the blade away from her and offered her his hand to help her up. Rey stared at it for a moment before she took it. He pulled her to her feet and summoned her blade to offer it back to her.

“Shall we try again?” Ben suggested.

“Yes,” Rey nodded, taking her blade from him.

Their spar after that was better, more controlled. Rey still had her aggression, Ben felt it in every hit that she landed on him. He tried to hold back when he attacked her, but every time he did so, she would hit him harder.

Afterwards, they were exhausted. They sat on the ground, panting. Ben looked over and assessed her. He made sure not to hit too hard, but she might have bruises because of this. He knew that he would.

She must have felt him staring, because she turned to look at him with a shy smile on her face.

“Thank you for this,” Rey said in a small voice.

“It was the least I could do,” Ben replied.

“You didn’t have to,” Rey shook her head. “You don’t owe me anything.”

“Yes, I do,” Ben admitted. At her confused look, he elaborated. “On Ryukk, Kira could have chosen to corrupt me with the Dark Side. I… I may not have been able to resist it.”

“Ben?” Rey asked.

“Even with just the pulse I felt,” Ben continued, not appearing to have heard her. “The call to the Dark was there.”

Ben’s eyes glazed over as he remembered how seductive the lure of the Dark Side had been. He had spent years in the First Order honing his skills in the Dark pretending to resist the Light. It had been a challenge to return completely to the Light after the end of the war.

It would have been so easy, so very easy to slip back to the Dark Side.

“Ben?”

Ben shook his head. He reminded himself of where he was. The war was over, the Light had won. Rey was staring at him in concern.

He rubbed his eyes with the back of his head. He was supposed to be doing this to get Rey out of her funk, not get into one of his own.

“Thank you Ben,” Rey said. “For this.”

Ben smiled at her. His plan wasn’t a complete failure after all.

***

Luke smiled as he felt the shift in Rey’s Force Signature. He had been keeping an eye on her ever since they had returned from Ryukk. To say that she had been sad was an understatement. He was relieved that she seemed to have pulled out of it.

“Do you have anything to add Master Skywalker?”

Luke kept himself from jerking in his seat. It wasn’t his fault that watching the Force was more interesting than whatever went on during these meetings that Leia insisted on dragging him to. If he didn’t need their permission to build a school, he wouldn’t even be here.

“None,” he said, making sure that his tone did not sound like he had been caught with his mind elsewhere. “Please, continue.”

Leia shot him a sidelong glance. She knew that his mind had been in the Force. He just shrugged at her. She may have been his twin, but she had also grown up in this environment. No matter how long he had been a Jedi, his roots would always be the moisture farm on Tatooine.

After the meeting had adjourned, Leia cornered him.

“What was that?” she asked.

“What was what?” Luke replied.

“That,” she said gesturing to his face. “For most of the meeting you had this distracted look on your face.”

“I did?” Luke was surprised. “Did anyone else notice?”

“Of course not,” Leia waved a hand. “I only knew because you _are_ my brother. And I could feel your mind in the Force.”

Luke chuckled. He was worried that it had been obvious to the whole room that he wasn’t listening. But Leia was more observant than most. And she was cheating because she had to use the Force.

“Where were you then?” Leia asked.

“In the Force,” he answered. “I was monitoring Rey.”

“Oh?” Leia said. “How is she?”

“Better than yesterday,” Luke said. He could see that she was relieved by the news as well. “Something happened that helped her.”

“That’s good news,” Leia commented. “But did you really have to keep an eye on her the whole meeting?”

“Leia,” Luke explained calmly. “It was either that or fall asleep. I have no idea why I have to sit in on trade meetings.”

As Leia launched her usual speech on how trade talks affected the Jedi, Luke zoned her out. He knew the gist of that speech and when to nod and grunt in reply.

He wondered if he should tell her that Ben was the reason that Rey was better. Luke decided against it. Even though Ben was her son, Leia was oddly protective of Rey. She probably would not have approved of the measures that Ben took.

Then again, Ben did just get out of the Infirmary recently. Leia wouldn’t like to know that he put himself in harm’s way.

Luke sighed. He knew that no matter how much he reassured himself that Leia didn’t need to know some things. She would always find out.

“Luke are you even listening?” Leia asked, crossing her arms.

“Of course Leia,” Luke smiled to placate her. “Trade routes will be essential to the livelihood of the Jedi.”

“Oh good,” Leia replied, apparently appeased. “Then--”

Luke smiled at his twin as she continued her speech. Rey was fine. Ben was fine. The trade talks were fine.

He just knew that something was going to happen soon.

***

Rey made her way to her ‘fresher. After the spar that she had, she reeked.

She rolled her shoulders, trying to get the kinks out. Despite the fact that Ben took it easy on her, the hits she took from him still hurt.

It was all training of course, so she didn’t mind. It wasn’t as if he went the extra mile to hurt her. A hot bath would do her loads of good.

After she had finished her bath, she felt much better.

Ben had been right. The spar did help her deal with what had happened on Ryukk. As thankful as she was towards Master Luke and General Organa, their help only lasted her a short while. If Ben had not come and drag her to spar, Rey didn’t know how long she would hold herself in isolation.

She still felt disappointed in herself, but she no longer blamed herself for what had happened to the children. Kira had gone over to the Dark Side, Elliot was already beyond their help when they arrived. Rey did what she had to in order to defend herself. She would not stay guilty for that.

She checked her chrono and saw that it was still too early for anything else. In the past weeks, she used her afternoons to practice her katas.

Given that her body was still complaining from the spar, she decided not to do them. Instead, she sat down cross-legged on the floor and proceeded to meditate.

The experience of being locked in her mind was fresh, but Rey wasn’t afraid. When she was locked in her mind after the battle she was alone. It was a cold place, devoid of anything and everything.

In meditation, she could feel the Living Force flowing all around her. She felt one with everything in the universe. Meditation brought her peace.

“Rey.”

Rey tilted her head up, keeping her eyes closed, and smiled.

“Grandfather.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this chapter was boring. The spar might have seemed a bit sloppy, I wrote half of it while on a caffeine high, and the other half while I was crashing. T.T  
> Luke and trade talks bc the economy is important. But it's still boring.  
> And oooh. Rey's grandfather! Who could it be? Yoda? (Yes, I'm currently on a caffeine high.)  
> Anyway, comments are appreciated!


	12. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey listens to stories. Ben gets teased. Luke meets someone new.

“Rey,” the voice greeted.

Rey felt a pleasant warmth spread through her body. Growing up on Jakku and waiting for family that never returned made her grateful for what family she did have. Although he was just a Force Ghost, Obi-Wan did try to make up for her lack of family.

“Grandfather,” she greeted in return. “How are you?”

“Better than you, dear one,” he replied. “Why don’t you open your eyes?”

“I am merely savouring the moment,” Rey said. “It’s not every day that you come and talk to me.”

Rey cracked open her eye just a bit. Even in his bluish glow, she could see that she had made Obi-Wan blush a bit.

“You know what the Code says about attachment, Rey,” Obi-Wan said, trying to save face.

“Master Luke says that the Code needed revision,” Rey pointed out.

“Young Luke had been listening too much to his father,” Obi-Wan sighed. “There is a reason why every Padawan should only have one Master.”

“Grandfather?” Rey asked, fully opening her eyes.

“Nothing,” he replied. “Luke is right. The Code did need revisions. It was love that led to Anakin’s fall, and yet it was love that saved him. Not all attachment would lead to the Dark Side.”

“Grandfather,” Rey murmured.

She saw that the past bothered him, although he would always claim that the past had no hold on him. People who knew that she was the General Kenobi’s granddaughter looked at her with more awe than those who just knew her as Rey the Jedi.

She didn’t like the extra attention, so she never played up the fact that she was technically a Kenobi.

“I was weak,” Obi-Wan admitted. Then he smiled at her. “I am proud of you granddaughter.”

“Sir?”

“You were in despair and you did not give into it,” Obi-Wan pointed out. “You were angry, but it did not consume you.”

“Oh that,” Rey wasn’t proud of what happened on Ryukk. “I had help.”

“I saw,” Obi-Wan gave her a knowing look. “Young Ben Solo?”

“He was just helping,” Rey said, blushing for no reason she could explain. “It was nice of him.”

“Quite,” Obi-Wan nodded. “Han named him after me you know.”

“You?” Rey asked. Ben was a bit far from Obi-Wan, in her opinion.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan explained. “It had something to do with me being the reason that he got involved in the war, hence, the reason why he met Leia.”

“So without you, Ben wouldn’t exist?” Rey said. “That’s a lot to think about.”

“Not necessarily,” Obi-Wan said. “The Force works in mysterious ways. Ben Solo was meant to come into being, with or without my presence. It just so happens that in this reality, I was involved in his parents’ first meeting.”

Rey nodded, not quite certain how to respond to that. Obi-Wan just gave her a smile.

“Grandfather,” she started. “About what happened on Ryukk. Kira and Elliot. Was there something that I could have done?”

Obi-Wan studied her face. She hoped that he had an answer. He almost always had an answer. She had no idea if he had always been that way, or if it was because he was connected to the Force in such a way. If he knew of a solution, of a way to prevent that from happening, she wanted to know as well.

She would not lose a student that way.

“No,” Obi-Wan shook his head. “The younger one, Elliot, was beyond anyone’s help. Kira had utilised the Dark Side of the Force. There is no going back from that.”

“But, Ben…” she paused. “Ben had been using the Dark Side when he was Kylo Ren, yet when I feel his Force Signature… I don’t feel the same thing I felt with Kira.”

“Interesting,” Obi-Wan remarked. “I’ve heard of Grey Jedi. I’ve even met some of them. People would argue that my own Master, Qui-Gon, had been one. But I only know the theoretical aspect of this path.”

Obi-Wan paused and tilted his head to the side, as if he was listening to someone that only he could hear. Rey knew that there had been other Force Ghosts, but the only one she ever met was her grandfather. Obi-Wan chuckled at what her heard.

“I’m sorry for that,” Obi-Wan said as he gave her his full attention. “There are just some jokes that couldn’t wait, apparently, not even for Force beings such as ourselves.”

“Was it him?” Rey inquired. “Was it Darth Vader?”

Obi-Wan gave her a sad smile.

“He doesn’t like to be called by that name,” Obi-Wan said, but Rey could here the reprimand. Her grandfather was a bit protective of the other man. “But yes, it was Anakin.”

“Why doesn’t he ever show himself?” Rey asked.

“He is trying to return to the Force,” he explained. “It has been a long time since he wanted to do so. But there are some things that he cannot let go of, as of yet.”

“I see,” Rey replied. “And you Grandfather? Will you return to the Force?”

“Perhaps,” Obi-Wan said. “But I cannot do so until Anakin does. I abandoned him once, I will not do so a second time. I’m afraid that until then, you will be stuck with me, Young Rey.”

“I don’t mind,” Rey smiled at him. “I enjoy having a doting grandparent.”

“And I enjoy our little talks as well,” Obi-Wan returned the smile. “However, your manners are quite appalling. You have a guest, and yet you have offered no refreshments.”

“I grew up in a desert,” Rey pointed out. “As a scavenger. I didn’t really have that many guests.”

“Ah yes,” Obi-Wan pursed his lips. “I’ve heard that excuse before.”

He chuckled and pretty soon, Rey followed suit. There was just something charismatic about her grandfather.

“Very well Grandfather,” she said as soon as her laughter subsided. “Do you want some tea?”

“That’s better,” Obi-Wan commended. “Quite civilised of you to offer tea. But alas I cannot drink it. So no, but thank you Rey.”

Rey smiled as she listened to Obi-Wan talk about the old Jedi Order. He paused here and there and corrected himself. Rey knew that Anakin was helping with this lesson. She wondered about the duo and how much of a force to be reckoned with, no pun intended, the two were when they were friends.

“Grandfather?” Rey interrupted Obi-Wan, who was talking about gundarks for some reason.

“Yes Rey?”

“Can you tell me a story about your adventures with Anakin?” she asked. “I want to know who he was. All I’ve ever heard about was Darth Vader.”

“Of course Rey,” Obi-Wan smiled at her. “Let me tell you about the time Anakin and I were off on a mission in…”

Rey listened and let the words flow through her. Obi-Wan believed in the goodness of Anakin Skywalker. Master Luke did too.

But she needed to understand who he was, not just the Hero Without Fear, but the real Anakin Skywalker. The one Ben seemed to be in awe of. The one he had been trying to emulate.

To understand Ben Solo, Rey would have to understand Anakin. Who better to explain it to her than the man who trained him?

And she needed to understand Ben Solo. She thought she knew who he was, but his recent actions proved otherwise. He was a mystery, and she wanted to solve it.

***

Ben wandered to the hangar after he had a bath in the ‘fresher. His whole body ached from all the hits he took from Rey. It might have seemed like a good idea to let her hit him, but hindsight is 20/20 and his body was very much regretting things.

Yet, he couldn’t help but feel pleased that he had helped her.

He let his feet lead him to his destination. The Millenium Falcon sat in its place in the hangar, looking for all intents and purposes, like an old ship that needed to be sold for scraps.

Ben sighed as he took it in. He knew that his father would never sell the old girl. One of these days, it would probably blow up. Ben hoped that if it did, it wouldn’t have his father or Chewie on board.

He entered the ship, dragging his hand across the wall as he did. He had a lot of good memories on the Falcon, and he loved it, despite it being a death trap.

“Father?” he called out, not really knowing what else to do.

His feet led him here, he believed that the Force had something to do with that as well.

“In here Ben!”

Ben followed his father’s voice. He figured that Han was probably fixing something or another. The Falcon seemed to always need tune ups these days.

He was right. He found Han tinkering under the console in the cockpit. Chewie was nowhere to be found.

“Hello Father,” Ben greeted.

“Ben,” Han replied, not even emerging from underneath the console. “What brings you here?”

“My feet,” Ben blurted out.

“Your feet?” Han asked, pausing to say that. “Why did your feet bring you here?”

“I don’t know,” Ben admitted. “Do I need a reason to see my old man?”

“I guess not,” Han chuckled. “Hand me that spanner, will you?”

Ben crouched down and grabbed the spanner from the toolbox. He didn’t like tinkering with electronics, not in the way his uncle and his father did. As much as he hated to admit it, he was more Leia’s son than Han’s.

Then again, whenever his parents fought, he would be left with his mother, so it wasn’t really a surprise that he turned out to be more like her.

Ben hissed as his muscles protested his position. Han slid out a bit and gave him a look.

“You okay Ben?” Han asked.

“Fine,” Ben replied.

“You don’t sound fine,” Han said, getting up. “You sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine Father,” Ben said, shrugging off the hand Han put on his shoulder. “Just some sparring injuries.”

“Sparring?” Han asked. “I thought Luke was stuck in trade talks?”

“He is,” Ben nodded. “I sparred with Rey.”

“Is that what you’re calling it these days?” Han teased. At Ben’s offended look he backed down. “So you sparred with Rey?”

“More like I let her hit me,” Ben admitted. “She needed it.”

“And you just so happened to be where she was?” Han smirked.

“I offered.”

“Really now?” Han gave his son an amused look. “I see.”

Han slid back under the console and continued what he was doing. Ben was puzzled with his father’s reaction.

“What was that about?” he asked.

“What was what about?” Han replied. “Hand me the tape.”

“That,” Ben said, giving his father the green tape that he knew was needed. “That conversation.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about son.”

Ben sighed as Han continued working on the Falcon. While Han was the straightforward parent, since Leia _was_ a politician and politicians tended to mince words, there were times when the smuggler could be as cryptic as she was.

Ben stayed as Han fixed the Falcon. It felt nice to be helping his father with the ship again. It reminded him of those moments when he was a child and all was well.

Ben smiled. It was good to be home.

***

Luke cleared his portion of that table as another meeting came to a close. He sighed as he gathered up the papers in front of him. He hated political meetings. There was a reason that Jedi held themselves separate from other governing bodies, and Luke had a feeling that it had something to do with all the paper work involved.

Luke hated paper work.

Still, he did his duty. He couldn’t wait for the day when he could foist off all of the drudge work to Rey or Ben. His father had told him stories of how the Old Jedi Council had worked, supplemented here and there by comments from Old Ben. Back then there had been enough Jedi that Master Yoda didn’t have to deal with much paper work, just a signature here and there.

Luke gave off a small chuckle. It would be years before he could rebuild the order to what it was. He wasn’t even certain that he would live to see it rebuilt. With Rey and Ben though, it seemed that the future of the Jedi was secure.

“Credit for your thoughts?” Leia said, noting his amused look. “The meeting this afternoon wasn’t that entertaining.”

It wasn’t. It had actually been more boring trade talks about fresh food sources and preservation facilities. Luke had no idea why he was required to sit in on those talks. Leia assured him that the talks were winding down, and that he could leave to establish the school soon, but with the on-going back and forth of the different star systems, Luke had his doubts.

“It’s nothing,” Luke replied. “Just some thoughts about the future.”

“Good thoughts then?” Leia smiled.

“Good enough,” Luke nodded.

“Great,” Leia commented. “I have a surprise for you.”

“Really?” Luke cocked an eyebrow, a trick he learned from Obi-Wan.

“Really,” Leia nodded. “If you’ll follow me?”

Luke got up and followed Leia out of the room, leaving the papers on his desk. She led him through the base, winding through the hallways and making it towards the designated guest quarters where the diplomats were housed.

“Leia?” Luke asked, hoping that her ‘surprise’ wasn’t a continuation of trade talks.

“Trust me,” she said, stopping in front of a door.

He did. There was nobody he trusted more in the universe than Leia.

Luke waited patiently as she knocked on the door and waited for a faint ‘enter’ before the door slid open. Leia beckoned him to follow her inside.

The room was just like any other guest room on base. These were hastily constructed to house the diplomats who came in after the fall of the First Order. They were sparse, offering only the basic comforts. Most of the other diplomats had probably complained about the accommodations and wondered why these talks weren’t being held in Coruscant, but Leia had put her foot down on that.

Diplomats had no idea what it took to win a war. Having them see first-hand what the base looked like and how hard the troops were working, even after the war was over, opened some of them to the harsh reality of war.

There were still those heartless enough to disregard the sacrifices that the members of the Resistance went through just to bring peace to the Republic, but they were, thankfully, a minority.

Inside, an adult Togruta stood to greet them.

“General Organa, Master Skywalker,” she said as she bowed to them. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.”

“Luke,” Leia said. “This is Atara Tano. She was very insistent on meeting you.”

“The pleasure is mine,” Luke replied, using all his charm.

“Please sit,” Atara gestured to the couch across from her. “I have much to discuss.”

 

“I must admit,” Luke said as he took a seat. “I am curious as to why Leia brought me here. She didn’t give me much of an explanation.”

Luke gave his twin a look. Leia just shrugged at him, a mysterious smile playing on her lips.

“It’s my fault,” Atara said. “I asked for secrecy.”

“Oh?” Luke asked, leaning forward. “Do continue.”

“Where I come from, the Jedi are all a myth,” Atara explained. “Powers such as theirs, laserswords, those are the stuff of legend and stories.”

Luke nodded. It was a fairly common belief across the galaxy. The Jedi have been gone too long. They had passed onto the realm of fiction, rather than fact. The Empire had ensured it.

“But to me, the Jedi were real,” Atara continued. “They weren’t just characters in a story. To me they were real people. My mother was one of them once, she had fought alongside the Hero Without Fear and the Negotiator.”

“Really?” Luke asked, intrigued. “What was her name? How did she survive?”

“She left the Order a few years before the Republic fell,” Atara replied. “Her name was Ahsoka Tano, and she was Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry I took so long to update this. But here it is!  
> Oh and, duh, of course this is a Rey Kenobi thing. lol. I just love Obi-Wan.  
> Oooh, Ahsoka's kid! I didn't really like her at first, but Ahsoka grew on me a bit.
> 
> omg. I broke the 30k words mark without acknowledging it. O.O I didn't even know I could write this much, and Ben and Rey still aren't a couple!
> 
> As always, comments are very much appreciated. ^.^


	13. Filler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Leia talk to Atara. Rey spends time with Poe and Finn. Ben is still a fanboy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Lots of people staring at each other while the third person doesn't notice.

Luke and Leia exchanged looks. They had no idea that their father once had a padawan learner. It hadn’t really been common knowledge. Most of Anakin Skywalker’s files from the Jedi Temple that the Empire had stored away were corrupted. What had been retrievable were the bare basics.

_Anakin Skywalker, human male, nine standard years. Found by Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn on Tatooine. Trained by Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi._

The files also accounted for some of his exploits in the Clone Wars, but those files were more of the corrupted ones. By the establishment of the Empire, there were no files at all recording Anakin Skywalker’s death, but Luke and Leia knew what became of him. Darth Vader.

“Father had a padawan?” Luke asked, leaning forward in his interest.

“Yes,” Atara nodded. “MY mother was his padawan learner for some time during the Clone Wars.”

“Thank you for telling us,” Leia said diplomatically. “We didn’t know about her. How is she.”

“She’s retired,” the Togrutan replied sadly. “Her war efforts are things of the past.”

“War efforts?” Leia blinked. “Tano. Why does that name sound familiar?”

“She also operated under the codename Fulcrum,” Atara explained. “When the Rebellion was still only just beginning.”

“That’s it!” Leia’s eyes brightened. “Father had said something about that a few times. An ally named Fulcrum who helped with disrupting the Empire during the early stages of the Rebellion.”

“Your Father?” Atara tilted her head. “I thought that Anakin Skywalker had perished during the Clone Wars?”

Luke and Leia exchanged another look. On one hand, the person standing before them was a complete stranger. On the other hand, for the Jedi a Master-Padawan relationship usually translated to familial ties.

Luke gave a small shake of his head, imperceptible to all but those who knew him well. Leia nodded.

“I meant my adoptive father,” she smiled. “Bail Organa, who was the Prince-Consort of Alderaan.”

“I heard about Alderaan,” Atara bowed her head in respect. “I am sorry for your loss.”

“It was a long time ago,” Leia gave a grim smile.

“I remember that day,” Atara said. “Mother had to sit for a while. She would not talk about it, calling it a matter inappropriate for children. It was only when the holonet reported the news that she pieced together what had happened.”

Luke gave Leia a concerned look. He knew that even now, decades later, the loss of Alderaan still hit her hard. He didn’t really understand it. He had lost his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru to the Empire. They may have raised him, but they had always been just his aunt and uncle.

The Organas took in Leia and raised her up as their daughter. Not only that, but she grew up as a princess, beloved by all. Leia had lost everything to the Empire. There was no question that she would take up her father’s mantle in the Rebellion after that.

“Old Ben described it,” Luke said. Leia had already heard it before, but it always gave her peace whenever she heard that she was not the only witness to her planet’s destruction. “He said that it was like millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.”

“Mother said something similar,” Atara replied. She seemed to be more perceptive than she let on, because she gave Leia a knowing smile. “Shall I go make tea? Mother said that an old mentor swore it had healing properties.”

“I’ll do it,” Leia volunteered. “If you don’t mind?”

Atara nodded and Leia rose and headed to the kitchenette. The togrutan gave Luke an apologetic smile.

“I shouldn’t have brought it up,” Atara said in a small voice. “It was insensitive of me to bring up something that was clearly so painful for her.”

“Perhaps,” Luke nodded.

They sat there in silence, waiting for Leia to come back with tea. Luke observed Atara. The togrutan may have been middle-aged, but she was fidgeting. Luke couldn’t blame her. She was in a new place with strange people. Luke could tell that she wasn’t here just to inform them of Ahsoka Tano. She was here for a reason, and Luke couldn’t wait to find out what she needed from them.

Leia returned from the kitchenette with a tea service. She poured them each a cup and smiled as she prepared tea the way Luke preferred it. Luke thanked her with a smile.

“So Atara,” Leia said, tea in hand. “Why have you sought us out?”

“I guess pleasantries are over huh?” Atara chuckled. After a pause, she looked at the twins and smiled. “I’m here in behalf of my mother.”

“And what does Ahsoka Tano need from us?” Leia asked.

“It’s not for her,” Atari replied. “It’s for my daughter.”

The twins stayed silent, hoping that it would encourage her to continue without them asking. They weren’t disappointed.

“Ah-Ni is what you would call Force Sensitive,” she continued. “Mother would train her if she could, but Mother is getting on in years, and she thinks it would be beneficial if Ah-Ni grew up with other Force Sensitives, like she did.”

“So where is Ah-Ni now?” Luke asked. “I didn’t seem to sense her.”

“I left her at home,” Atara admitted. “I wasn’t quite comfortable bringing her here. Besides, Mother would like to meet you.”

“She would?” he asked skeptically.

Luke didn’t know what Ahsoka Tano knew about what happened to his father, but if she had worked with the Rebellion, there was a chance that she knew what really happened to Anakin Skywalker and blamed him for a few things.

“Yes,” Atara nodded. “But I couldn’t quite bring myself to just leave her. You understand, right?”

“Of course,” Leia nodded. “It’s hard to give up a child.”

“Exactly!” Atara brightened. “Mother said that growing up in the Temple was the best for her, even though she never knew her birth family. But those were different times.”

“I don’t intend to keep my learners from their families,” Luke said. “The school won’t be about no attachments. Not like the Jedi Order.”

“That’s reassuring,” Atara admitted. “That means I can visit Ah-Ni?”

“As much as you’d like.”

Atara gave them both a broad grin. Leia could understand her elation, any mother would. As necessary as it was for a Force Sensitive child to grow up trained, it didn’t ease the ache of having to send your child away.

They exchanged more pleasantries after that. When the tea had cooled, the twins excused themselves from Atara’s quarters, promising that they would leave the as soon as they can..

Once they were outside, Luke turned to Leia with a smile.

“A padawan,” he breathed. “Someone who knew our father.”

“Your father,” she corrected. “I knew my father. He was Bail Organa, Senator of Alderaan.”

“Leia,” Luke muttered.

“No Luke,” she shook her head. “I want nothing to do with this one.”

“But Leia,” Luke reasoned. “Ahsoka Tano knew your adoptive father as well, working for the Rebellion as she did.”

“Listen Luke,” Leia gave a sigh. “This next one? This is Jedi business, your business. Besides, I’m needed here. The ambassadors weren’t pleased with my going off to Ryukk. I doubt they’d let me go a second time, not when trade talks are about to end.”

“We could wait,” he suggested. “As you said, the talks are about to end. Ahsoka was a Jedi, she knows all about duty coming first.”

Leia gave him a hard look, her mouth curving to one side as it always does when she’s displeased with something. Luke countered it with a knowing look. She might have been a politician, but she always did the right thing. She knew that going with them to see Ahsoka Tano was the right thing.

“Fine,” she raised her hands in defeat. “We’ll go as soon as the agricultural talks are done.”

“Thank you Leia,” Luke shot her a smie.

“Yeah. Yeah.”

***

Rey smiled in satisfaction as she stretched out her legs. Meditation might have brought peace to her mind, but the pose she had to keep in order to reach that mental peace wreaked havoc on the circulation in her legs.

She winced as the feeling of electricity ran down her leg as she extended it. That was the last time that she stay in meditation for so long.

Her grandfather had assured her that as soon as she mastered the Way of Whills she would be able to commune with him without having to dive so deeply into the Force.

It would be nice to be able to just call for him whenever she needed help. Before meeting BB-8 and Finn, she had no one like that.

Plutt may have looked after her when she was a child, if one defined ‘look after’ as leaving her with a protocol droid until she was old enough to go scavenging for parts, but she had no one who cared for her just because she was Rey.

Then she joined the Resistance and met all sorts of people. Finn and Poe were her friends. Chewbacca, Master Luke, and General Organa were her family, Han was in that list too. Pretty soon, she would have students who would expand that family.

“The Jedi were my family,” her grandfather had said. “I knew of no other family but the Order. I needed no family but the Order.” He paused, tilting his head to one side as Anakin talked to him. “I agree that taking younglings from their families was a bit extreme Anakin, but it was our way and now Luke is changing that.”

Rey had watched, amused that she was seeing only one side of what was probably a long-standing argument between the two. Obi-Wan had noticed, of course, and assured her that she would have been laughing had she heard what Anakin had to say.

Rey smiled as the feeling returned to her legs, dismissing thoughts of the Force Ghosts. Now that her anger had been released, and her mind eased, she really should seek out company. More solid company.

And she knew just where to find them.

Just as she expected, Finn was in the hangar, fixing up Poe’s black X-Wing. The pilot wasn’t anywhere Rey could see, but she figured that he was probably grabbing water or something.  Finn didn’t see her approach since his back was facing her, so she decided to sneak up on him and play a little trick on him.

“Boo!” she yelled, causing Finn to jump.

“Rey!” Finn scowled as he turned to face her. He pointed the wrench he was holding at her. “I could have killed you!”

“With a wrench?” Rey raised a brow. “I highly doubt that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Finn asked, clearly offended. “I’ll have you know, I was very proficient in my improvised weaponry class when I was in training.”

“You had improvised weaponry class?” Rey fought back a laugh.

It was a running joke between the three of them, to make the most outrageous lies about their past. They had to tell it with a straight face, and the other two shouldn’t react either. Whoever overheard them ended up shocked at what they were saying.

“Of course!” Finn boasted, his lips twitching as he held in his humor. “Why there was this trainee who could maim you with a flimsy straw. He was just that good.”

“Ah yes,” Rey nodded sagely. “The victim would then die of blood loss because the blood would just drip right out.”

“Exactly,” Finn couldn’t hold it in anymore.  He let out one big guffaw. Seeing that she already won, Rey let herself laugh along.

“What’s so funny?” Poe asked, walking up to them with a water container in each hand.

“Straws as weapons,” Finn answered.

The blank look on Poe’s face just made the two laugh even harder. The pilot shook his head and chuckled at his two friends. Handing one canteen to Finn, Poe crouched down and assessed the repairs that Finn had made.

“Not bad,” he smiled as he patted the other man on the back. “You’re getting better at this.”

“I did help with the Falcon during the War you know,” Finn reminded him. “That thing had more tape keeping it together than actual wires.”

“I told you it was garbage,”Rey murmured. Garbage or not, the Falcon grew on you.

“Yeah,” Finn nodded. “Just don’t let Solo hear you say that. He’s oddly attached to that ship.”

“It’s a good ship,” Rey defended.

“I never said that it wasn’t,” Finn replied.

“But it’s obviously Han Solo’s ship,” Poe observed, nodding to the Falcon’s general direction where Han and Ben were walking out of it.

“Ben…” Rey said, noting the man’s limp.

Poe and Finn looked at Rey and Ben, suspecting that something happened between the time they last saw their former enemy and now. Judging from Rey’s concerned frown, something did happen, and it involved her.

“Care to share Rey?” Poe probed.

“We sparred,” Rey shrugged.

“Is that what you’re calling it now?” Poe smirked, only to have a roll of tape thrown at him.

“It was nothing,” Rey insisted.

“He’s limping,” Finn observed. “That doesn’t look like nothing.”

“I might have hit him a little too much,” Rey admitted.

“He let you?” Poe raised an eyebrow.

“He encouraged it,” she nodded.

Poe gave her a speculating look, one that she didn’t appreciate. She raised an eyebrow in response.

“It’s nothing,” Poe gave her a winning smile. “Let’s head off to dinner?”

They all agreed and started cleaning up and putting things away. The war might have been over, but that didn’t mean that they could afford to be sloppy. There were still pockets of First Order sympathizers out there after all.

Rey watched her friends with a smile. She should think of some way to thank Ben for drawing her out of her room. Perhaps the General would have a suggestion.

***

“We should probably head off to dinner huh?” Han said as he straightened out his clothes.

Ben smirked at that. His father was covered in some fluid or another that was leaking from the Falcon. His mother would probably not appreciate it.

“Are we eating in the mess?” he asked.

“No,” Han shook his head. “Your mother wanted us to have a family dinner for some reason.”

Ben nodded. He watched as Han finished cleaning up and they made their way off of the Falcon.

In the hangar Ben noticed that Rey was over at Poe’s X-Wing. She seemed to be having a good time with her friends. He was glad that their sparring session had helped her, even if it meant that his body ached all over.

Han noticed the direction of Ben’s gaze and smirked, but said nothing. Ben scowled at his father, who replied with a wink.

Han Solo may have a reputation for being a smooth talker, but people tended to disregard the way he could convey things without even having to say a word.

They made their way to Leia’s rooms and let themselves in. C-3PO was there setting the table. Dinner was already ready, but Leia was nowhere in sight.

“The General hasn’t returned yet,” C-3PO informed them. “She wished for me to inform you that she and Master Luke had a meeting with someone after the trade talks concluded.”

“Thank you Threepio,” Ben said politely. “We’ll just wait here. Can you go make tea?”

“Certainly Master Ben.”

“You should clean up,” Ben said to his father as soon as the droid left them alone. “Mother wouldn’t approve of you messing up her couch.”

“I suppose,” Han shrugged, but plopped down onto the couch anyway. “Mind getting me something to drink other than tea?”

Ben raised an eyebrow but stayed silent. Han smiled at Ben, knowing that he would do exactly as his father asked. Ben sighed and used the Force to levitate a cold drink to his father.

“Thanks,” Han said as he twisted the cap off of the bottle and drank. “Think that what’s keeping your mother is Jedi business?”

“Probably,” Ben supposed. “She’s coming.”

Sure enough, the door slid open to admit Leia. She looked over to them, squinting at the state of Han’s clothes and sighed.

“At least you’re here,” she said. “Let’s eat.”

Over dinner Leia told them about the progress of the talks, which were all boring in Ben’s opinion. He could tell that Han was bored as well, if the glazed look in his eyes were any indication.

Finally, Leia told them about why she was late for dinner. Specifically, she told them about who she and Luke met. To say that Ben’s curiosity was piqued would have been an understatement.

“Grandfather had a Padawan Learner?” Ben’s eyes sparkled at the news. “And we’re going to meet her?”

“In time,” Leia nodded. “I remember hearing about her exploits during the Rebellion. She was a formidable warrior.”

“Of course she was,” Ben agreed. “She trained under grandfather.”

“Not this again,” Han complained.

“He has a point,” Leia cut in before her son and her husband could get into an argument. “Despite everything he’s done, it could not be denied that Anakin Skywalker was an excellent fighter.”

Han scowled but didn’t press the issue. He had a lot of reasons to hate Darth Vader, being frozen in carbonite being the most significant one that personally happened to him. But the destruction of Alderaan and Leia’s people was a close second.

Ben chose to ignore his father. His grandfather might have turned to the Dark Side, but he had excellent control of the Force and, as his mother stated, his fighting skills were also the best. Ben was Anakin Skywalker’s grandson, he wanted to uphold his grandfather’s legacy.

The rest of the dinner went well, but Ben didn’t pay attention to it. He was too excited about meeting Ahsoka Tano. He couldn’t wait to hear the stories that she had to tell about his grandfather.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this took me a while to update. I've been binge-reading obikin fics *insert evil cackle here*  
> No worries, I'm not abandoning this, nor am I (completely) jumping ship. My time will just be divided between this and Something Old, Something New. ^.^


	14. Passing Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben talks to Obi-Wan. Rey thinks about the different types of battles. Luke and Leia win a small victory against the bureaucrats.

Ben felt that time was moving slowly. It had only been a day since his mother announced that they were going to meet Ahsoka Tano, but he felt like it was longer than that. He knew that it was only natural to feel that way because he was excited about it. But he couldn’t help it. He was just eager to hear about his grandfather.

His grandfather who wouldn’t talk to him.

Ever since the end of the war, when his true loyalties had been revealed, Ben tried to commune with Anakin, but he was only left frustrated. So far, only Master Obi-Wan had appeared to him.

The old Jedi had no problems with Ben’s actions during the war. Anakin however was another story. Ben’s grandfather blamed himself for Ben’s ‘fall’.

Ben knelt on the floor of his room, feeling the Force around him. He controlled his breathing and reached into the Force, hoping that this time, Anakin would come.

“He won’t see you,” Obi-Wan said as he appeared.

That day he was the young General Kenobi, close enough to Ben in age. Ben knew that it was Obi-Wan’s way of trying to make Ben feel comfortable, of looking a peer, rather than as a mentor.

“Why not?” Ben asked, clearly frustrated. It was definitely not the first time that his grandfather refused to see him, nor would it have been the last.

“He wouldn’t say,” Obi-Wan replied, which was just a polite way to say that Anakin didn’t want to see Ben.

“He hates me,” Ben complained. “He hates that I used Vader’s legacy as my cover.”

“To be fair,” the Force Ghost pointed out. “Those years in the Dark Side weren’t his best.”

“That doesn’t mean that he should ignore me,” Ben said.

He knew that it was petulant of him, but when he was a child, before he took on the role of double agent, his grandfather had never refused to see him. While he was with Snoke, he had to block off those ties for a while, it wouldn’t do for the Supreme Leader to know just how tightly Ben clung to the Light.

Anakin Skywalker was Light, Darth Vader was Dark. It was just how things were.

The disappointment was clear on his face, and Obi-Wan was nothing but compassionate, so he placed a comforting hand on Ben’s shoulder.

“Don’t be so dejected,” Obi-Wan comforted. “Anakin sees this as his failure. If he hadn’t turned, none of this would have happened. He doesn’t hate you. Nothing could be farther from the truth.”

“You don’t have to make excuses for him Master Obi-Wan,” Ben said. “I know what hatred and rejection feel like. You should know, you were there.”

Ben’s time in Luke’s Academy were lonely years. The other students were wary of him. He was powerful in the Force, a legacy from his grandfather, and they had felt it. Because of that, he had excelled in lessons, which caused them to become petty and jealous. They made sure that he knew that he was as welcome there as he was with the children of the politicians, which was to say, not at all.

Because he was so isolated, he spent most of his time practising his lightsaber forms and meditating. It was during one of those meditations that his grandfather had first come to him.

Anakin knew how lonely it was to be more powerful than his peers. He knew how children could be jealous of those to whom powers of the Force came easily. He had seen that Ben needed a friend, so he decided to talk to him.

Over time, Obi-Wan joined them, regaling the young Ben with stories about Anakin as a padawan. Ben had enjoyed those stories, just as he enjoyed the lessons Anakin gave him with his ‘saber form. Back then, meditation meant story time with Obi-Wan and katas were moving meditations spend with Anakin.

Ben didn’t see the need for any other friends.

But his isolation would have proven to be his downfall. Snoke spoke to him through the Force, whispering dark dreams of power. The Supreme Leader told him about the First Order and about the Knights of Ren. He was promised leadership in both, that he would be feared and respected.

Ben did the only logical thing when the dreams continued. He told his mother.

By then, Leia had heard rumours about the First Order. It hadn’t been much of a threat back then, but by some gift of foresight, Leia knew that they would become a group that would threaten her beloved Republic.

So they came up with the plan of sending Ben undercover. They had no idea that it would mean the devastation of the Academy, or that Ben would be gone for over a decade, but when they were formulating the plan, it seemed like a logical course to take.

The rest was history.

“He cares,” Obi-Wan insisted. “It’s just that Anakin has always had trouble facing his failures.”

“So I’m a failure in his eyes then,” Ben sighed.

“It’s not that. Blast!” Obi-Wan stroked his chin.

For the Negotiator, Ben noticed that Obi-Wan didn’t seem too savvy with words. Perhaps that’s what all that time in the Force did to you.

“Ben,” Obi-Wan said. “Anakin loves you. He just doesn’t know how to ask for your forgiveness.”

“ _My_ forgiveness?” Ben asked with an incredulous look. “It should be _me_ asking for forgiveness, not the other way around!”

“Not in Anakin’s eyes,” Obi-Wan said slowly. “To him it was his fall to the Dark Side that tainted his line. That because he became Darth Vader, it meant that his descendants would be forever doomed to be seduced by the Dark.”

“But that’s--”

“Ridiculous,” Obi-Wan agreed. “I know. But sometimes Anakin gets these ideas in his head and they’re quite difficult to dislodge.”

Ben huffed in frustration. Stubbornness was indeed a family trait, some of them less so than others. But Ben was also a Solo, which meant that he could out-stubborn anyone in the galaxy.

“Grandfather!” he shouted, causing Obi-Wan to raise an eyebrow. “I know you’re there! You always are whenever Master Obi-Wan is around!”

The Force rippled, but Anakin didn’t show himself. It didn’t matter, Ben knew that his grandfather was listening.

“This wasn’t your fault!” Ben continued. “I chose to walk that path, for the greater good! Mother and I agreed to it beforehand.”

Ben took a breath, feeling the Force as he did. If he concentrated enough, he knew he could feel Anakin’s presence, but he didn’t. His main goal was to get Anakin to stop blaming himself for Ben’s actions. Getting his grandfather to appear would have to happen another time.

“I mean it Grandfather,” Ben said in a calmer voice. “There was no other way, none that would give us the results that we needed. I’m sorry for shutting you out all those years while pretending to seek out your voice for the benefit of the Dark Side. But it had to be done.”

Ben inhaled again. Obi-Wan’s eyebrow had descended back to its normal position and instead, he had a thoughtful look in his eye. His head was tilted to one side, as if he was waiting for Anakin to whisper something into his ear.

“I’m sorry I disappointed you,” Ben finished.

He didn’t expect Anakin to show himself, or even to make his presence known. But he felt a light pat on the head and a warm feeling spread throughout his body.

While Anakin wasn’t quite ready to talk to him again, Ben was forgiven.

“Give him time,” Obi-Wan advised. “He has always found it harder to forgive himself than others. A trait he learned from me I’m afraid.”

“Thank you Master Kenobi,” Ben said gratefully. “For being here and for staying with him.”

“Oh dear one,” Obi-Wan said with a smile. “Where else would I be?”

Obi-Wan and Anakin’s presence disappeared after that, leaving Ben alone in his room. The warm feeling stayed with Ben throughout the day.

***

Rey sat down in the shade as she finished her katas. Master Luke had told her that there were different lightsaber forms back in the days prior to the Empire, but he didn’t know them that well. Obi-Wan told her a bit about his chosen form, Soresu, but she didn’t know how to adapt it to a staff.

Soresu needed one hand free to channel the Force through. Staff fighting, more often than not, needed her to have both hands on her weapon.

Still, she worked on the forms that were clearly meant for one-handed combat. There were other forms, of course, Djem So being one that allowed a person to have both hands occupied, but she had no teacher.

Master Luke had tried to teach her, but his form was far from the proper complete form. His style was a mix of Djem So and Soresu, his incomplete training evident. He had mastered his hybrid form, but it was not one that was adaptable to Rey’s staff.

Unless Anakin decided to show himself and help train her - not likely - or Ahsoka was nimble enough to give her pointers when they met – also not likely- Rey would have to make do with the training that she did have.

Thinking about training eventually led her thoughts to Ben. In light of recent events, namely his way of bringing her back to herself after that horrible experience, he was a puzzle to her.

She had understood Kylo Ren. Anger is easy to understand. Lust for power is easy to understand. But being a double agent to bring about peace, even if it meant losing a part of yourself for the cause? That was not simple.

She sighed as she rubbed her eyes. She still owed him for what he did the previous day. Rey knew that she gave him quite the beating. She decided that after she took a shower, she would ask the General what she could do to make up for it.

After washing the sweat off of herself, Rey found the General in her private rooms.

“Rey,” Leia greeted when she opened the door. “Come in. Have you had lunch?”

“No,” she shook her head as she stepped inside.

“Come join us then,” Leia said, shutting the door behind her.

“Thank you,” Rey replied.

Inside she found Master Luke at the table. C-3PO quickly made another place setting for her. Neither Han nor Ben were anywhere to be seen.

“Rey,” Luke nodded in greeting. “What brings you here?”

“Lunch, apparently,” Rey replied sheepishly.

“You don’t say?” the corners of Luke’s mouth twitched.

“Actually,” Rey said. “I’m here to see the General.”

“Rey please,” Leia said, a soft look in her eyes. “How many times have I told you to call me Leia?”

“Sorry Gene-” at Leia’s look, Rey cut herself off. “Le-Leia.”

“We’ll work on it,” Leia smiled, noting her stutter. “What did you need?”

“Well,” Rey hesitated, watching as C-3PO served lunch. “It’s about Ben.”

“Oh?” Leia asked.

Rey fought the urge to squirm in her seat. Not only was the General looking at her, but Master Luke was studying her as well. Both of them had concerned looks on their faces. It struck her how similar they looked. Despite knowing that they were twins, she had not noticed that before.

“Did Ben do something wrong?” Leia asked. “He’s always had a hard time expressing himself. He may come off as standoffish, but I’m certain he meant well.”

“Oh. No!” Rey said, waving her hands in denial. “Quite the opposite actually. Ben got hurt while we were sparring yesterday.”

“You sparred?” Luke asked.

“Yes,” Rey nodded. “He said it was to work me through my frustrations. It worked.”

Luke shared a look with Leia. Rey couldn’t tell what the look meant, she doubted that she was meant to. Leia’s gaze swung downwards before it rested on Rey once more.

“I’ll make sure he sees a healer,” Leia assured her. “Are you alright?”

“Yes,” Rey replied. “He was going easy on me.”

“That’s nice to know,” Leia smiled. “Shall we dig in?”

As they ate, Luke and Leia talked politics while Rey listened. Some of it was boring, namely the disputes about which trades could use which hyperlanes. But Rey knew that she had to be aware of the current events going on in the galaxy.

“We cannot allow any of the bureaucrats that much leeway,” Leia said. “I remember Father telling me that it was because of those types of people that the Republic had crumbled into chaos.”

Rey noticed that Master Luke gave a small, barely noticeable wince when the General said ‘father’. She realised that Leia wasn’t talking about her birth father, rather, it was Bail Organa that the General was talking about.

“There will always be bureaucrats,” Luke pointed out. “I like them as much as you do, but it can’t be helped that they exist.”

“Maybe you could limit the bureaucrats’ power?” Rey suggested.

Leia gave her a thoughtful glance. Luke sat back and watched.

“How would you suggest we do that?” Leia inquired.

“I don’t know,” Rey shrugged. “Perhaps tax their trade or something that will lead to less income for them and more income for the Republic.”

“That sounds reasonable,” Leia mused. “Perhaps each commodity should have a corresponding tax. Weapons and fighter droids getting a bigger fee because they’re non-essentials.”

Luke smiled. He could tell from the look on Leia’s face that she was already planning things. He continued eating, motioning for Rey to do the same, despite Leia just pushing her food around her plate, her mind obviously on how to limit the bureaucrats.

“Perhaps we should have Rey present the proposal,” Luke suggested a few minutes later. “It’s high time that she was involved in this.”

“Me?” Rey asked. “I don’t think anyone would listen to me.”

“I think that would be a great idea,” Leia smiled at her. “The younger generation should have a say in all of these as well.”

“But,” Rey protested. “I don’t know what to say.”

“I’ll give you pointers.”

That was that.

Rey shot Luke a dirty look, which the Jedi Master promptly ignored. Rey understood why they wanted her to do it, but she was reluctant. Despite being lauded as a hero, Rey still felt like the scavenger from Jakku. She didn’t think that any of the politicians would want to listen to her.

While they waited for Leia to get ready for the afternoon’s session, Luke gave her a reassuring smile.

“Relax,” Luke said. “Just believe in yourself. You’ve done more for this Republic than anyone else in the meeting later, myself included.”

“But Master Luke,” Rey said. “Why would they listen to me? I’m just a scavenger from Jakku.”

“You brought peace to the galaxy,” Luke reminded her, cutting her off when she was about to say something. “I know you had help, but a lot of that effort was yours. These people owe you a great debt. Use that to help those who cannot help themselves.”

“I haven’t done anything like this before,” Rey pointed out. “I’d rather be sent out to a battlefield than this.”

“There are different battles Rey,” Luke said. “As keepers of the peace, we should learn how to fight verbal battles rather than just physical ones.”

Before Rey could reply, Leia walked out, ready to face the politicians once more.

“Ready?” Leia asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” Rey replied. To her great surprise, she really was.

***

Luke smiled at Rey as the delegates filed out of the meeting room. His apprentice had outdone herself, just as he expected she would. Concessions were made, not that they didn’t expect that they wouldn’t, but all in all, the powers of the bureaucracy had been limited a bit.

“That was,” Rey said as soon as the last politician closed the door. She was searching for a proper word to describe the experience. She settled on calling it “different.”

“How did you find your first taste of politics?” Leia asked.

“I’ve never met so many people who say one thing,” Rey replied. “But mean another. They kept projecting their thoughts. I see how this would be simple for you General.”

“You’d think that knowing their thoughts would make this job easier,” Leia commented. “But most of the time, it’s not enough. They may be projecting their surface thoughts, but I can never be certain what is lurking underneath.”

Leia excused herself to see to some paperwork in her private office. Luke lingered in the room for a while. The silence was a relief after the meeting that they just had. Rey stayed as well, clearly wanting to talk to Luke about something.

“The General may not have probed,” Rey said. “But what about you Master?”

“Tempting as it is, mind probing isn’t appropriate,” Luke lectured. “At least that’s what Old Ben taught me. In times of peace, the Jedi must keep the peace, even if it means severely limiting ourselves.”

“So you never used the Force to influence any decision?” Rey asked.

“I try not to,” Luke winked. “Whatever agreements happen here should be made freely. Using the Force to get the results that I want is a gross misuse of the power granted to us. You could even say it was bordering on the Dark Side.”

“So never?”

“I didn’t say that,” Luke chuckled.

“Right,” Rey grinned. “I don’t know if I can do this again soon. Words really aren’t my thing Master.”

“Words weren’t my thing either,” Luke admitted. “But needs must, and you have the head for these things. Compared to myself or Ben.”

“Master?”

“Ben and I are a bit short-tempered,” he explained. “I know it might seem like I’m patient now, but that’s from years of learning how to be patient. Ben’s patience is short, not exactly non-existent, but close enough. It runs in the family.”

“But Master,” Rey started to say, but Luke cut him off.

“Besides,” he gave her an encouraging smile. “Negotiating is in your blood.”

“Those are big shoes to fill,” Rey said. “I might not be able to live up to Grandfather’s legacy.”

“Do any of us ever?” Luke replied. “All they would ask of us is that we do our best.”

“Do you really think I did well today?” she asked.

“Nobody could tell that it was your first time,” Luke promised. When he saw that she made no moves to leave, he raised a brow. “Was there something else?”

“My ‘saber form,” she said. “The one I’m using now is adequate, but I feel like there is still so much I can do to improve, but the form I’m currently using won’t cover it.”

Luke studied her. He knew that Soresu had limitations, it was the Form that he and Obi-Wan agreed to train her in after all. His own style was unique to himself. By the time he had found the holocrons with lessons, he was set in his ways and only adapted different aspects of the other forms to strengthen his own.

“Listen to the Force,” he advised. “There isn’t much else I can teach you.”

“The Force?” she asked.

“Yes,” he replied. “I told you about Master Windu who created the Seventh Form, Vaapad right?”

Rey paused, no doubt trying to recall that lesson. Then she nodded slowly.

“He created that form to suit his purposes,” Luke said. “No doubt, you can do the same for yourself.”

“Right,” Rey replied sceptically.

“And,” he continued. “If Madame Tano would agree to it, she could probably instruct you in Djem So. Proper Djem So.”

Luke saw Rey’s eyes brighten. He didn’t want to get her hopes up, but that was all he could promise her at that moment.

Luke knew that he could ask his father to give lessons, but that chances of Anakin actually agreeing were low. Ever since Ben went undercover, Anakin visited less and less, until eventually, he had stopped. Old Ben had continued visiting, and gave Luke updates about Anakin, but Luke missed having actual conversations with the man.

He sighed as Rey walked out of the room, a bounce in her step. He wondered if there were still holocron recordings of ‘saber forms hidden somewhere. His own library of those things had been destroyed when the Knights of Ren attacked. They may not be as effective as actual teachers, but they were better than nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry that this took so long to update. RL has been hectic with exams and whatnot.
> 
> Okay, here's the thing, I have to get this done before the end of April because I'll be starting my clerkship by May*fingers crossed*. So if I don't wrap this story up by then, I'm apologising in advance. I will write in my spare time, but who knows how much spare time I'll even get? lol.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


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